


Don't Stand So Close To Me

by rvnclaw54



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Consensual Underage Sex, F/M, Harry Potter References, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-06-23 15:34:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15609447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rvnclaw54/pseuds/rvnclaw54
Summary: When seventh year Ravenclaw Eliza Wilson is appointed Professor Lupin's assistant teacher she realizes her initial attraction to him is growing into love. Little does she know he begins to reciprocate those feelings. With her studies no longer at the forefront of her mind Eliza must decide if it's worth the risk to follow her heart and give into her affections for her teacher.





	1. Chapter 1

Eliza hurried across the crowded Great Hall to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. She was running unusually behind for the beginning of term. Her seventh year. The idea of graduating from Hogwarts terrified the young Ravenclaw but all at once excited her. Though she would be more thrilled to move into the adult wizarding world if she had gotten a full, proper education at Hogwarts. Last year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, had been abysmal in instructing them. Leaving Eliza extremely nervous for both the arrival of the new DADA teacher, but also for her NEWTS which would be at the end of the year. 

Finally arriving to the Ravenclaw table she quickly shoveled some toast and pumpkin juice into her mouth before running off to her first class of the day, coincidentally the one she most dreaded, Defense Against the Dark Arts. When she arrived, she noticed a vast difference in the decoration of the room from when Lockhart had taught. Instead of a million shiny, moving pictures of Lockhart plastered with a gleaming smile there were informational posters discussing different traits of creatures like vampires, ghouls, and dementors. Granted, this would serve as helpful information because of the dementors that were currently displaced at Hogwarts in search of Sirius Black. 

“Good Morning ‘Liza,” murmured a very sleepy Sarah Hall, Eliza’s best friend from the Hufflepuff house. Eliza shot Sarah a similarly tired smile. The two unfortunately didn’t have time to catch up because their new teacher had just entered the room. 

“Good morning class, I’m your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Remus Lupin. I gather from your sleepy faces that most of you would still prefer to be in bed. I promise to guide you smoothly into the first lesson of the day as best as I can,” Professor Lupin announced, smiling kindly at them as he looked around the room, his dark green eyes twinkling with delight.

Eliza’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t help but find him handsome, though he was wearing shabby, patched robes that covered a similarly worn-out tweed suit. He was clearly still young but his pale face showed age lines and scars. His sandy brown hair was tinted with streaks of grey. Lupin’s good-natured face and kind features intrigued the Ravenclaw. 

“Now, since we are in your NEWT year this class will be more difficult and fast paced than in previous years. If at the end of the class you feel overwhelmed with the amount of coursework and the advanced pace of the class, please do not hesitate to come talk to me about it. I am sure we will be able to figure something out.” Lupin said pleasantly, scanning the classroom with a genuinely sweet smile plastered onto his face. The class size was significantly smaller than it had been last year, though most of the seventh years didn’t feel confident facing the NEWT level with the poor instruction from Lockhart. 

“One more note before we get started with today’s lesson. I have been notified by the staff about your, let us say, lack of proper instruction last year. But, I’ve also heard that because a student helped teach the class and even aided with the studying and exam portion. You all feel confident moving onto the NEWT Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Ms. Eliza Wilson, would you mind seeing me after class?” Lupin added in his relaxed voice. Eliza flushed at the mention of her name.

Eliza couldn’t help but be proud of Lupin’s praise. She understood DADA better than any other class. Though she still had good marks in her other courses. Because she understood it so well, Eliza didn’t see the point in letting her classmates struggle if she could help them along. She figured that the rest of the sixth years would excel at the subject if someone other than Lockhart was teaching it. So, after the first week of lessons when Lockhart went from bad to disastrous, she decided that she would make a lesson plan loosely based around the subjects found in Lockhart's books. Additionally, she added things seventh years at the time recalled learning in their sixth year. She conducted weekly study sessions filled with practice quizzes and study guides. Eliza supposed to some it seemed like she was doing a lot of extra work, but the feeling of pride she got when all her sixth-year classmates passed the DADA exam made it all worth it. She would do it again in a heartbeat if her peers needed help.

However, Eliza didn’t foresee her classmates needing her help anytime soon. Professor Lupin was easily the best DADA professor Eliza’s had during her seven years at Hogwarts. On the first day he was already explaining patronus charms and how to cast them. 

“This is a very, very complex spell. Many great wizards are unable to cast them, so I don’t expect any of you to cast it on the first try or at all this semester. While we may move onto additional subjects, I want you to keep in mind the process that creates a patronus charm. Concentrating hard on a very happy memory, and saying the incantation: Expecto Patronum. That is all for today’s class, for homework I would like you to practice casting a patronus charm, and to write me a brief summary on how this spell affects a Dementor.” Lupin said, dismissing the class with a kind smile. Eliza’s heart began to speed up as she approached the young professor’s desk once her classmates had left the room.

“You wanted to see me sir?” Eliza asked curiously, slightly worried about what Lupin would say. Yet she was more so inquisitive about what he wanted to know, she assumed Professor Flitwick, head of the Ravenclaw house, would have told him everything he needed to know. But, she couldn’t help but wonder if he would say that teaching the class was incredibly disrespectful to Professor Lockhart, despite him being completely dimwitted. She bit her lip, nerves making a faint blush appear onto her cheeks. 

Professor Lupin turned to face her, taking in the Ravenclaw’s anxious features he gave her a reassuring smile, lightly patting her hand as he said, “Don’t worry you’re not in any trouble Ms. Wilson, I only wanted to discuss with you the extent of your teaching last year. I must say I am incredibly impressed, it is very uncommon for a student to have the ability to teach while they are in the process of learning the subject itself. Do you mind telling me what happened last term?” Lupin asked, the kind tone of his voice never faltering once. Eliza felt relieved instantly but couldn’t help but continue blushing as he pulled his hand away from hers. 

“Oh, well, Professor I’m very grateful for the compliment. But I have a good understanding of the subject, and wanted to help my classmates pass the class. Especially knowing NEWTS would be this year. I only would help teach when Professor Lockhart would be showing us something and be unable to wrangle the creature or do the correct counter curse to a spell he cast. Other than that, I, well, I wanted to help the rest of my year actually learn something, because the first week made it clear to me Professor Lockhart wouldn’t be helping us much.” She trailed off, brushing her fingers lightly against her robes. Lupin was intrigued by her intelligence and at the same time impressed with her modesty. He nodded at her to continue, once again sending a jolt of sparks through Eliza’s body as he reassuringly patted her hand to keep talking. 

“First I asked seventh years around the Ravenclaw common room what they had learned in their sixth year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Once I formed a list of creatures and spells I went to the library and began researching and recording everything I found out. I started writing up study guides on the subjects, and after Professor Lockhart would leave halfway through a lesson I would go up and start talking about what I had learned, explaining different creatures like vampires or water demons and the details that revolved around the subject. Then once a week I had a study group where we would discuss more about what we learned, and then take practice exams or practice the spells learned.”  
Eliza finished, slightly more confident after her explanation. She took the moment to analyze how much taller Professor Lupin was compared to her, and how slender he seemed to be. The shabby robes were slightly hanging off of his body, he didn’t look well-rested and had an exhausted air surrounding him. 

“That was very resourceful of you Ms. Wilson, quite brilliant indeed. Professor Flitwick didn’t disclose nearly that much detail, but nonetheless I got the gist that you worked just as hard teaching your classmates as you did working on your own studies, am I correct?” Lupin said, raising his eyebrows at Eliza to confirm his question to be correct, she nodded quickly in response. 

“I have a proposition for you. I do not know what your plans are after Hogwarts, but I do think this would help give you additional practical experience. Seeing how well you lead your classmates to success in the subject, I was wondering if you would aid me in teaching my third years?” Lupin asked slowly, maintaining eye contact with her the whole time. He could pick out the swirling shades of green in her hazel eyes. Lupin stared, captivated, waiting in anticipation as she mulled the idea over. 

“Are you sure I will be able to fit it in with my other school work? After Hogwarts I want to become an Auror or a Hit Witch so I have to take NEWT level Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Herbology.” Eliza asked, curiosity seeping into her voice. She wanted to help Lupin teach the third years, she knew having one on one time with such a well-informed professor would benefit her come test time. 

“Yes, actually Professor Sprout informed me that you have the highest marks in Herbology amongst your year, and that she can pardon you from the class should you agree to help me assist in teaching. Your other Professors agree that the extra work should not take a toll on you, actually most of your efforts with the additional class will be spent with me.” He explained more thoroughly, she reddened with embarrassment at his mention of Professor Sprout’s praise. 

“Oh, well, in that case I would love to help you teach the third years. Sir, what exactly would my title be? My mum’s a Muggle professor and she often refers to the students who help her in classes as “teaching assistants.” I don’t know if the wizarding world has the same title?” Eliza responded quickly, the comment about her mum flying out of her mouth before she could process the thought thoroughly. Professor Lupin gave a small chuckle, and began walking Eliza out of the classroom. 

“Excellent! I think the title is quite fitting, I don’t believe any Hogwarts Professor has taken on a teaching assistant before, so we will adopt the name from the clever Muggles,” Lupin said, simply. “Ms. Wilson we will begin planning sessions this Wednesday at 7 o’clock. These will be weekly occurring meetings that may occasionally extend to the weekend depending on the lesson. I will see you then.” He smiled kindly and sent her on her way with a short goodbye. 

The rest of the school day passed Eliza in one giant blur, her thoughts were dedicated to her conversation with Professor Lupin. She tried helplessly to dismiss the sparks she had felt when he touched her hand or the flush that appeared on her cheeks when he smiled at her. She was daydreaming so heavily she didn’t hear Professor Snape address her nearly five times in Potions. Finally, he slammed her potions book on the table. Startled, Eliza looked up to see the greasy, black haired Snape staring daggers at her with his cold black eyes. 

“Y-yes Sir?” She asked quietly, absolutely mortified that she’d been caught in her own little world. He merely sneered at her. 

“I was going to ask you the properties that go into a love potion, but it seems to me Ms. Wilson you do not think my class is important enough to answer or dedicate your time to. Fifty points from Ravenclaw for ill attention.” Snape snapped at her and walked back up to the chalkboard. Eliza gulped nervously. Slightly thankful it was only house points instead of Snape making her speak what she’d been daydreaming of. 

That night at dinner in the Great Hall, Eliza was hungrily devouring a piece of shepherd’s pie when Sarah approached her from the Hufflepuff table. 

“So, what did Professor Lupin want with you after class?” She asked curiously, a gleaming smile appearing on her face. 

“Oh, um he wanted me to tell him about my teaching last year. Then, keep this on the down low, he asked me to be a sort of “teaching assistant” for his third year Defense Against the Dark Arts class.” Eliza said in a hushed voice, at her response, Sarah’s chocolate brown eyes widened to the size of saucers. Eliza quickly tied her wavy raven colored hair into a bun as she scooched closer to Sarah. 

“Eliza that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! If anyone deserves this it’s you, you’re half the reason I’m even able to continue at the NEWT level,” Sarah responded happily, she flipped her sandy blonde hair over her shoulder before continuing. “So, that means that you get to help him prepare lesson plans and such for the third years?” 

“Yes, on Wednesdays he wants me to come to his study and discuss lessons for the week, and sometimes on weekends we’ll gather materials together. Honestly, I’m rather nervous to be spending so much one on one time with him, I’ve never been alone with a Professor for an extended period of time before. I really don’t know what to expect,” Eliza  
confessed, anxiety slipping back into her voice. She was able to tear down the confident front slightly for Sarah, she had an intuition for this kind of thing.

“He seems so nice ‘Liza, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. If it was,” Sarah paused to make sure the Professors at the head table were still enjoying their dinner,  
“Professor Snape, you’d have full reason to be worried. But Professor Lupin really seems very kind, I think you’ll learn a lot from him.” Sarah finished with a big smile, Eliza felt instantly better. Like a big weight had been lifted off of her chest. 

“Thank you, Sarah. I should probably head back up to the common room to work on some homework. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Eliza said, giving her friend a small hug. She turned to leave the Great Hall when Professor Lupin caught her eye. 

Her heart was thumping loudly when he gave her a small wave and a wonderfully sincere smile, Eliza returned the gesture, positive that her cheeks were red. She left the Great Hall musing over the fact that while Gilderoy Lockhart’s gleaming smile may be considered perfect, Eliza would much rather have Professor Lupin smile at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza and Professor Lupin meet later that week for their first planning session. She confides in the Professor and a budding connection forms between the two of them. Later that evening Eliza's desire for her Professor comes to life in a dream.

Before she knew it, Wednesday night had come around. Eliza discarded her Ravenclaw robe before leaving the common room in her skirt and sweater uniform along with her backpack. That morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts they had begun practicing producing patronus charms, most of the class had barely been able to produce the silvery wisps from the end of their wands. But Eliza had almost produced a full body patronus until her happy memory faded away. She swore she saw four legs before the silver outline disappeared. Eliza had been thinking about the day she got accepted to Hogwarts, her mother had told Eliza how proud her dad would have been. 

The memory had been her happiest because in lieu of the occasion her mum had gifted Eliza her father’s old watch. She both treasured the watch and refused to take it off since the day it was given to her. But what dampened the memory was that Eliza realized her dad would never see the witch she had grown up to be. At the realization Eliza had been on the brink of crying, her dad’s death had never hit her harder. Professor Lupin had quickly noticed something was upsetting her, but Eliza ran out of the classroom before he could ask what was wrong. Sarah found her later that day crying in the girl’s bathroom and consoled her with comforting words and lots of chocolate.

She brushed the less than cheerful thought away before it could upset her any further and knocked on the door to Professor Lupin’s office. Eliza hoped he had forgotten her near outburst in class, she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of him. He opened the door with a pleasant expression on his scarred face. Lupin looked much healthier since his first class, less tired for sure. He moved out of the doorway to allow Eliza to walk into his office. She gingerly took a seat on the chair placed in front of Professor Lupin’s oak desk. 

“Good evening Ms. Wilson. Now I understand if you don’t want to share with me what was wrong earlier, I just want to make sure you’re okay now?” Lupin asked in his calm baritone. The thing about Professor Lupin was that Eliza could see how clearly, he cared for others, the idea warmed her heart and made her feel slightly better.

“I’m doing better, sir. Thank you,” She responded in a polite tone, looking around the room, eyes locking onto the record player that sat on a table next to the window and the stack of records that laid neatly beside it. He pulled the chair from behind his desk and moved it so it sat adjacent to Eliza. Lupin resumed studying her features, trusting his intuition, he continued pressing what had happened earlier. 

“Ms. Wilson you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself for not producing the full body patronus, like I said it’s an extremely difficult spell. You were so close I’m sure you’ll attain it before the holiday break.” Lupin said slowly, trying to gauge if this was what caused her slightly less than cheery state. 

“Oh, it wasn’t that, Professor. I was happy to know that I was close to producing the full patronus. It was actually my memory. I was thinking about it too much and realized that it didn’t make me happy anymore. I suppose I’ll have to come up with a different one now.” Eliza said hurriedly, unsure about how much she wanted to disclose to the Professor. She thoughtfully played with the faded brown leather watch on her left wrist. Lupin immediately noticed the movement, he glanced up at her briefly, noticing her hazel eyes were both significantly greener and that they shined with tears. 

“I may be able to help more Eliza, if I understood what made the memory unhappy for you?” He murmured, rubbing a small circle onto her back. She relished in the extreme warmth coming from his hands, and took a deep breath. 

“I was thinking about when I got my letter from Hogwarts after I turned eleven. My mum told me how proud my dad would have been of me, and she gave me his watch. It was all they could find from him when he died. The memory used to make me very happy because the watch makes me feel like there is a part of him still with me. He was an Auror during the first Wizarding War and died in one of the last battles against a couple of Death Eaters, his partner was able to capture Bellatrix Lestrange. But that was after she had murdered him. He’s the reason I want to be an Auror, sir. I was only four when he died, I don’t really remember him.” She said, controlling her contracting throat so she wouldn’t cry in front of Professor Lupin. The fine lines on his forehead creased in concern as he moved his hand from her back to her hand. 

“I’m so terribly sorry for your loss, Eliza. Even after many years the pain of losing a loved one never really leaves us does it? For what it’s worth, I think he would be very proud of the witch you’ve grown up to be. He would have no reason not to be, you’re incredibly intelligent, creative, and very kind,” He responded at first sadly, but with each compliment his voice grew stronger. She looked up at him with wide eyes and a glowing smile on her face. Lupin returned the smile, happy to have been able to cheer up the young Ravenclaw. He tried to ignore the tingling, warm sensation he got when she smiled. 

“However, let us move on to more pleasant things, shall we?” He quickly gathered himself back together, “I want to show you what I have planned for the third years for their first lesson,” Professor Lupin grinned mischievously and ushered Eliza out of his office. She couldn’t get over the fact that he had addressed her by her first name. Nor could she ignore how much she enjoyed hearing “Eliza” roll off of his tongue. 

They arrived shortly to the teacher’s lounge, Lupin opened the door for Eliza and swiftly joined her inside. The teacher’s lounge was empty of people, there sat multiple squishy arm chairs and a rattling wardrobe against the furthest wall, she gazed curiously at the wardrobe, wondering what was inside of it, Lupin flashed another sneaky smile.

“Can you take any guesses at what is residing inside that dark wardrobe?” Lupin asked glancing at her momentarily, noticing the small dimple appearing on her cheek when she smiled. 

“I can really only think of one creature that lives inside dark spaces like a wardrobe or under the bed. Is it a boggart, sir?” She returned the mischievous smile gleefully. Eliza had taught about boggarts last year and the spell that corresponded with getting rid of them: Riddikulus! 

“Correct you are my dear, I know you taught the sixth years about these fascinating creatures last year and thought it would make for an interesting first lesson with our third years. What do you think?” He questioned, waiting for her response. She stepped forward taking in the shaking wardrobe. Boggarts took the form of a clown for Eliza. They absolutely terrified her. When she casts the spell Riddikulus she always imagines the clown melting into a rainbow puddle, like candle wax. 

“I think it’s rather brilliant, it’s instructional but will capture their attention and make them interested in learning more from you.” She responded thoughtfully, wondering what the boggart would turn into when Professor Lupin faced it. 

“That is exactly what I was thinking. Alright Eliza I will let you go for tonight, see you tomorrow morning!” Professor Lupin said happily as he showed her out of the teacher’s lounge. 

Eliza arrived back to the Ravenclaw common room that night extremely exhausted. Barely taking the time to take in the enchanted ceiling, able to show her the extent of the night sky in a crystal-clear picture. After working on her Charms essay for a half an hour she decided to call it a night. She went up the grey staircase that lead to the girl’s dormitory and immediately collapsed onto her bed, falling into a deep sleep. 

The desk was rough against her bare legs as Professor Lupin stood in between her knees, one hand tangled deeply into her hair and the other slowly snaking its way up her naked thigh. Soft, warm fingers grazed the skin slowly and seductively causing heat to build up between Eliza’s legs. She sighed into his mouth as their tongues battled for dominance, she rubbed her thighs together, her body aching for any sign of friction. Lupin smirked at this, and began to move his kisses down her neck gently biting the skin, creating a trail of hickies that lead to her collarbone. Eliza tugged on his sandy brown hair, causing him to release a low growl. He moved the hand that was tangled in her hair down to her waist, pulling her closer to the edge of his desk. The fingers that had been moving their way up her thigh curled around her lace panties, slowly inching them down, causing Eliza to release an impatient whine. 

“P-please Professor,” she breathed out, her voice barely above a whisper. The young man obliged to his student, slowly circling her clit with his middle finger, he stopped the friction and proceeded to slide two fingers inside of her, he began slowly moving them in and out as Eliza bit her bottom lip so hard she thought it might bleed. Lupin began increasing his speed, using his thumb to continue the work on Eliza’s clit making her moans louder and more urgent. 

Then he stopped causing her to whimper his name as she spread her legs further. The young Professor smirked at her as he pushed her upper body onto the desk so she was laying down. He then grabbed her hips and pinned them to the desk with his hands, gradually tipping his head down towards her wet heat. He slipped his tongue inside of her throbbing core and teased her maliciously with his tongue. Eliza tried to buck up her hips to create more movement but Lupin hastily pushed them back down. Her hands intertwined into his hair once more and tugged harder this time as he began to devour her, his groans causing vibrations inside her. 

“Remus!” She cried out, ecstasy possessing her as he sucked on her swollen clit, she was so close. It felt like she was teetering right off the edge of a cliff, falling, falling. 

Eliza woke up a tangled, sweaty mess in her bed. Panting she kicked the covers off and quickly ran her hands through her hair, trying to push away the hot embarrassment she felt. She had a wet dream about a teacher for Christ’s sake! Eliza groaned, mortified about seeing Professor Lupin tomorrow, and ashamed about how badly she wanted the dream to be real. Little did the distressed and thoroughly turned on Ravenclaw know, her Professor had just woken from a similar dream across the castle.  
Eliza was still extremely flustered by her dream the previous night. So much so that she had failed to fall asleep afterwards, leaving her looking very pale and exhausted. Instead of her hair being let down in wavy tendrils it was sloppily pleated into a braid. Eliza had prominent purple bags under her eyes, and she also feared that this wasn’t just her dirty little secret.

She spent her free period that morning finishing up an essay about Felix Felicis and other circumstantial potions for Professor Snape before heading up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. When she arrived she opened the door, worried about beating Professor Lupin. Her anxiety was relieved when she saw him organizing multiple pieces of parchment, which Eliza assumed were his lesson plans for the different classes he was teaching today. 

“Oh, good morning E-- Ms. Wilson. I didn’t hear you come in, how are you doing today?” Lupin asked, his voice hoarse with surprise. He didn’t seem as tired as Eliza but she did notice he seemed jumpier than usual. She yawned and moved her way through the rows of desks up to the Professor. 

“Well, thank you,” She began, interrupting her sentence with a large yawn causing Lupin to chuckle lightly. “My goodness I’m sorry about that. Didn’t get much sleep last night,” Eliza confessed glancing quickly at the floor. She blushed furiously when he moved closer to her. Eliza avoided his gaze her thoughts teasing her about the things he did to her in the dream. Professor Lupin reciprocated her blush, the night previous he had dreamed of kissing her deeply while she sat on the desk seated in front of him. His body was still humming from the fact, his longing deepening when she bit her lip, glancing down at the floor. 

“Mhhm I know the feeling,” he said in a distracted tone, his eyes locking onto her lips. “Well our third years should be arriving soon. I’m going to go check on the boggart once more before class starts.” He said, finally making eye contact with the tired student. She smiled in response and nodded. 

The class went better than in Eliza’s wildest daydreams, the third years seemed very responsive to both Professor Lupin and herself. They were enjoying themselves thoroughly while practicing with the boggart. When it was finally Harry Potter’s turn to face the boggart, she noticed Professor Lupin’s face go sheet white, immediately jumping out in front of Harry. Causing the boggart to shift form, into a full moon. With one last “Riddikulus” the class was over, and the boggart was finished off. Eliza stayed to help Lupin clean up the ashes from the boggart, curious as to why he was so afraid of the full moon. There were certainly some death omens associated with the cosmic cycle, but she hadn’t pegged Professor Lupin the type to believe in such things. While they were cleaning up Professor Lupin would get jittery whenever their hands accidentally brushed, usually apologizing profusely when it happened. Especially when she handed him his wand from off of the floor. Eliza couldn’t help but notice the pink hue that tinted his cheeks when her fingers grazed his own. But perhaps he was getting hot. She was nervous that he could tell she had an inappropriate dream about him. 

“Now Ms. Wilson, if it’s alright with you. I’d like you to accompany me to the Black Lake this weekend. Then we’ll be able to fetch ourselves a water demon and some plants to create a suitable habitat for him.” Professor Lupin said, finally regaining his composure. Eliza’s heart thumped erratically at the idea of spending a whole Saturday with him, she shooed the thoughts away from her head. For God’s sake he was her teacher. Also, the whole reason she agreed to be his TA was to learn more about Defense the Dark Arts, that will in turn, help her become an Auror. She didn’t do it, however, to ogle at him or even catch feelings for the Professor. Eliza promised herself to remember her studies when these warm feelings arose. 

“That all sounds fine to me, where would you like me to meet you on Saturday?” She asked, smiling sweetly at him as they left the teacher’s lounge. If only she were aware of how his heart was beating loudly in his chest. 

“Up by my office right around, let’s say 9 o’clock.” 

“It’s a date,” Eliza responded, her face turning first white and then scarlet when she realized what she said. Professor Lupin blushed a very light shade of pink as well. A small, nervous chuckle escaping his lips. She wanted to jump off of the Astronomy tower immediately. 

“Goodbye Professor Lupin, see you Saturday.” She quickly spit out before turning and speeding away in a hurried walk. 

He was left to stress about if she somehow knew about the dream he had about her last night. Or if she was somehow aware of the tingling sensation that remained in his hand from where she touched him. Utterly disgusted with himself for having these feelings and thoughts about a student he hurried off to his office to make a cup of tea. Unsuccessfully trying to shake away how warm her smile made him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor Lupin and Eliza meet up that Saturday to prepare for the week's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he finds out more about the Ravenclaw's insecurities, and opens up to her as well.

Eliza went through the rest of the day absolutely embarrassed about what she said to Professor Lupin, she anxiously worried about giving him the wrong impression with her statement. She lost Ravenclaw another 50 points via Snape for not paying attention while he wrote instructions on the board for a sleeping potion. Eliza didn’t know what was the matter with her, despite Snape’s cruel disposition she had always been fond of potions. She enjoyed how a bunch of seemingly random ingredients could produce something magical. Up until recently Snape had never snapped angrily at her. On the contrary, she was one of the few students not in Slytherin to earn house points from the Potions master.  
Potions completed her day, thankfully, she couldn’t bear to go the rest of the day oblivious to what was happening in her lessons. It really wasn’t like her to be daydreaming during subjects she enjoyed. Divination, however, was a totally different situation. She’d dropped the class as quickly as she could during her third year. 

That night she went down to the Great Hall for dinner, securing a seat next to her friend Tom at the Ravenclaw table. Tom was a tall, burly boy with curly black hair and crystal-clear blue eyes. He was a Beater on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. He greeted her with a smile and a sharp pat on the back. 

“Lizzie! I haven’t seen you at all since term started. Congrats on being able to work with Professor Lupin, man’s a genius I tell you.” Tom said with a brilliant grin, she rolled her eyes at his nickname for her. 

“Thank you Tom! I know I’ve been so busy with homework already. I’m excited though, today was my first day and it went really well, we showed the third years a boggart,” she explained excitedly, helping herself to some pudding. 

“That’s great Lizzie, I’m sure the lot of them loved the boggart. You’re a damn good teacher, hopefully you can take some time away from your busy schedule to watch a Quidditch match.” Tom teased, poking her cheek with his finger, she chuckled and swatted his hand away. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She responded dramatically. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she turned to the head table filled with chatting teachers, just barely catching Lupin’s eye as he quickly looked down. 

She pursed her lips and continued eating her dinner, well aware of how frequently he seemed to be looking at her. That’s odd. Maybe he was making sure she was no longer upset about her patronus? But that had been a day ago already. Eliza quit her musings and focused on eating, she’d figure out the meaning behind those sneaky looks eventually.  
Eliza finished most of her weekend homework that night up in the library with Sarah. She almost blurted out her dream about Professor Lupin more than once. But thought against it, she didn’t really know how Sarah would react to the dream content or her corresponding feelings. She’d probably insist Eliza quit the position as to not tempt herself, and that was the very last thing she wanted to do. Finally, satisfied with her work ethic for the evening Eliza retired back to the girl’s dormitory. Unable to get rid of the giddiness inside of her at the thought that she would be seeing Professor Lupin tomorrow. 

The next morning, she woke up far earlier than the rest of her house. Eliza dressed in her sweater and skirt uniform, feeling like she wouldn’t need her traveling cloak with the weather still so nice. Then she bounced down the stairs and out of the Ravenclaw common room. She ate her porridge and fruit quickly. Enjoying the fact that she seemed to be the only occupant of the Great Hall besides a couple of third years at the Slytherin table. They waved a cheery greeting to her, recognizing Eliza from Defense Against the Dark Arts. She happily waved back, elated that the students seemed to enjoy her presence.  
Eliza felt so jubilant she debated skipping to Professor Lupin’s office. Once arriving she knocked on the door with two quick raps, bouncing up and down with excitement. She had never seen a water demon up close before, let alone catch one. Her Professor opened the door, darned in his usual patchy tweed suit and his traveling cloak. In one hand he held his wand and in the other he was carrying a large glass tank, Eliza assumed it was meant to hold the grindylow. He looked happy but, paler compared to the other day, his sandy brown hair looked a bit greyer. 

“Good morning Ms. Wilson. Are you ready to go catch a water demon?” Lupin asked cheerfully, shutting his office door behind him.

“Absolutely! I’ve only read about them in books, I never dreamed I would be catching one!” She said enthusiastically. Lupin laughed at her, not mockingly, but happy to see her so excited. 

“Ah yes, nasty little things these water demons. Strong enough to grab a wizard and drown them. But, like all creatures they have a weakness. They have brittle, long fingers that can easily be broken.” Lupin explained, a mischievous smile growing across his face, causing him to look much younger. 

“Sir, how do we plan on capturing the grindylow?” She asked as they strode out the front castle doors. 

“My dear Eliza, you didn’t think of a spell to use?” Lupin asked, feigning shock as he burst into a fit of laughter. At first confused about what he was talking about Eliza picked up that he was teasing her, she decided to roll with it. Not sure whether to deem it unprofessional or acceptable. Surely McGonagall had joked around with her in class. 

“No Professor, why I thought that was your job?” She mocked back, reciprocating his teasing tone. Eliza smiled wryly at Lupin who was now dramatically rolling his eyes. 

“Oh, must I really do all the work?” He asked, trying to act the part of an overworked teacher, failing and promptly bursting out into a chuckle again. 

“Why Professor Lupin, I’m not Filch after all. You can’t expect me to do all of the hard work?” Eliza teased, a sly smirk appearing on her face. Lupin gave her a stern look for mocking Filch, but she could see a wicked gleam in his eye. Eliza had an inkling that Professor Lupin wasn’t a perfectly well-behaved student during his time at Hogwarts. 

When they approached the Black Lake, the air became significantly cooler. An extremely cold blast of air shot across the lake, chilling Eliza to her core. She rubbed her hands together, regretting leaving her cloak up in the Ravenclaw dormitory. The cold air was also due to the fact that Eliza and Professor Lupin were nearing the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, and outside of what seemed like an invisible barrier, the blue of the sky was clouded by a sea of dementors. She felt Lupin stiffen at the sight of the dementors, he gripped his wand a little more tightly and moved slightly in front of her. 

“Right, let’s get this done quickly. I’d rather not deal with that army of dementors. You see Eliza despite the fact that Dumbledore has ordered them to be off grounds, they are toeing the line very much. Hovering just outside of school grounds so Dumbledore can’t do anything about it.” Lupin said sharply, glaring at the Dementors who were hovering so closely it looked like they were pressing up against glass. Eliza had never heard him speak so coarsely. But she agreed, she felt less cheerful than she had that morning, thoughts of her father’s death loomed in the back of her mind. 

Lupin tapped the glass tank with his wand and it fell open with a loud clank! He then began murmuring an incantation, from what Eliza caught it sounded like he was putting an attraction charm on the tank. She assumed it was meant to lure the grindylow to the tank once they submerged it. As if reading her mind, Lupin then shoved the glass tank underwater, it sunk quickly below the inky black surface. 

“Now we wait,” he stated, taking a seat on the rocky shore line. Eliza followed suit and sat down next to him, she could feel the warmth radiating from him. She felt compelled to rest her head against his shoulder but resisted. He was her professor, they couldn’t have any type of romantic relationship without consequences. Eliza felt the constant need to prove herself to her peers. Half-bloods didn’t get nearly as hard of a time as the Muggleborns, but they were still subject to prejudice. Some of the purebloods at the school believed that she and others who had Muggle parents didn’t deserve to be there. Eliza, like so many other witches and wizards with Muggle parents, felt the need to work harder than the rest of her class, just to prove those purebloods wrong. That she belonged at Hogwarts, that she was just as capable, if not more, of magic with half a Muggle parent. Her heart sank to think of what her father would think if she got expelled from school for having relations with her teacher. 

“Professor Lupin, do you think I’m worthy of being an Auror?” Eliza asked, surprised by her bravery. She glanced at him in nervous anticipation, while he turned his head and stared at her in shock.

“What brought this on? Why, of course you do Eliza. You are the top of your class, and have good marks in all of the subjects required to be an Auror,” Lupin exclaimed. His voice was filled with surprise. But he quieted when he noticed how pensive she looked. Lupin then knew the cause of her shift in attitude. It was one he had himself when he was a student at Hogwarts. 

“Do you not feel like you are worthy?” He asked softly. She helplessly squeezed her hands together, eyes pinned onto the leather watch on her wrist as she spoke.

“Sometimes I do, and then other times,” she trailed off. Hot, angry tears began to stream down her cheek. “I hear what some of the purebloods say about those of us with Muggle parents. They don’t think we belong here, it doesn’t matter how hard I work! It doesn’t matter I’m best in my class. They think I’m scum because my wizard father married my mother who just happens to be a Muggle. Why does that even matter? If we are to be judged why can’t it be on our skill and our character?!” She ranted bitterly. Eliza had never admitted this to anyone before and was in disbelief how easily she confessed this to Lupin. She thought Professor Lupin would be appalled by the ferocity of her words. But instead he had a look of determination on his face. 

“Eliza, look at me,” He stated earnestly. Lupin leaned in closer to her, took out his handkerchief and wiped the tears from her cheek. She was still shaking with anger, and he patiently waited for her hazel eyes to lock his gaze before continuing. “You belong here. All wizards and witches who are capable of magic belong here at Hogwarts. It doesn’t matter if you have Muggle parents or if you have wizard parents. My mother was also a Muggle, and she was simply, a brilliant, kind woman. Harry Potter’s mother, Lily Evans, she was one of my best friends and the cleverest witch of her age, she had Muggles for parents as well. Our skills are not predetermined based on our parentage. Talent comes from hard work and effort, and you Eliza, are one of the hardest working students I have ever met.” Lupin said sternly, he hadn’t realized that he grabbed her hands in an attempt to comfort her. Eliza looked up at him with a bewildered expression etched onto her lovely face. A new warmth emerged from her features, brightening her eyes. They were so very close to each other, bewitched, Professor Lupin began to lean in slowly when they were both startled by a rattling cage.

“We caught it!” She exclaimed, jumping up quickly to peer at the water demon that was now shaking the glass cage fiercely. Lupin refocused his attention and brushed off the near-kiss without a second thought and lugged the cage onto the shore. 

The grindylow was probably the ugliest magical creature Eliza had ever seen. He was a seaweed green little creature with long spindly legs and arms with a plump belly. He had large yellow eyes and sharp, green teeth. She noticed the long fingers attached to his arms, remembering what Lupin said about these being its greatest weakness. The grindylow was thrashing around the glass cage, splashing Eliza with large bouts of water from the lake that soaked her to the bone. 

“Now Eliza I want you to do a powerful sealing charm on this cage, that way we can ensure the grindylow will not escape or puncture the enclosure.” Lupin explained, motioning the wand movement she was to use with his hand. She nodded, pulling her wand out of her pocket. Eliza looked at the glass cage and concentrated hard on the sealing charm, thinking the spell: “Imprimatur Signum.” A jet of lavender exploded from the end of her wand, tightly encompassing the cage. Lupin grinned widely at her.

“Excellent! Wonderful job Eliza. Let’s get back to the castle.” He said proudly. She felt the warmth of accomplishment wash over her like a tidal wave. Eliza still shivered despite the wonderful feeling, still soaking wet from being splashed.

Lupin noticed her chilled state and took off his traveling cloak as they reached the castle. He then fastened it around her quickly, giving her no time to object. As they walked back up to his office Eliza could smell a warm concoction of scents coming from Professor Lupin's cloak. It smelled faintly of chocolate, cinnamon, and sandalwood. She took a deep inhale of the sweet scent and smiled to herself. Despite being in deep denial of her growing feelings for him she had to admit to herself that he smiled like home. Nor could she ignore that Professor Lupin was simply warm. Every smile exuded kindness and sincerity, the comforting touch of his hand was enough to cease her endless worries. The smell of his cloak confirmed it. Eliza had never met a man as compassionate as Professor Lupin and every part of his being reflected his benevolent personality.  
When they arrived back to his office Lupin opened the door and set the grindylow down on a table behind his desk. He then got out a rusty kettle and began making them both some tea. While he did this Eliza took off his cloak wistfully. She wanted to wear it for as long as possible. But she knew she’d only get more attached to both the scent and Lupin. Professor Lupin set down two steaming mugs of tea and proceeded to hang his cloak up, he then finally sat down in front of her. She took a small sip of the tea and shuddered slightly from the sudden heat. 

“How is the beginning of term going for you Eliza?” Lupin asked politely. He didn’t know much about Eliza besides the focus of her studies. 

“It’s going pretty good so far, very busy, lots of homework. But Quidditch starts soon so that will be a nice break,” she replied thoughtfully. She gave the handsome professor a pleasant smile. He still looked pale and hair greyer than usual, but his green eyes were shining brightly. 

“Do you play for Ravenclaw?” He asked curiously. Happy to see the color return to the youthful Ravenclaw’s face. Eliza however almost spilled her tea from laughing. 

“Oh no Professor! I’m an absolute dreadful flyer, I wouldn’t embarrass myself by even trying out. I just enjoy watching the sport. My friend Tom is a Beater on the team, he keeps telling me I need to go to matches once they start.” Eliza replied still giggling at the thought of playing for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Lupins face contorted into one of interest when she mentioned Tom. He had assumed they were dating and was instantly relieved to find out they were just friends. Which in turn, frustrated Lupin, he didn’t want to have these budding feelings for his student.

“Hmm, I must admit I am surprised. From what I hear you seem to be good at just about everything you try, but I concur. I was never one for Quidditch myself, I was much more comfortable cheering on my friends from the stands.” Lupin said, a reminiscent smile lingered on his face before fading away. Eliza raised her eyebrows wondering what house he was in when he went to Hogwarts, and who his friends were. 

Lupin grinned at her as if he already knew what she would ask next. “I was in Gryffindor. Let’s say we had a certain aptitude for causing mischief.” He grinned slyly. “Well I suppose I should let you get back to your studies. Thank you very much for your help Eliza. You are one of the most talented witches I have had the pleasure of meeting.” Lupin stated as he led her to the office door. She flushed hurriedly at his compliment. Turning to face him she realized that they were once again, extremely close, only a sliver of space between them. She could pick out the blue in his green eyes and see the scars that failed to alter his handsome face. 

“Thank you. Professor Lupin. If I’m being honest, I was rather nervous at the beginning of the year about who would be teaching us, especially after Lockhart.” She admitted with a nervous chuckle. “Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee having a teacher like you. Thank you for trusting me to assist you.” She took a deep breath before saying, “You are the most compassionate man I’ve ever met.” She said sincerely. His gaze flicked briefly across her face and he flashed her another one of his genuinely sincere smiles. 

“You are much too kind. Eliza, I never expected to meet a woman like you.” He murmured softly. Eliza flushed pink and couldn’t contain her smile. She glanced briefly at his lips as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Composing herself, she said a goodbye and walked away. Unaware that Lupin’s gaze followed Eliza as she walked down the corridor. He never moved once, for he was still entranced by her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Lupin's absence Professor Snape interferes with the course material, including, an assignment to Eliza on classifying the signs of a werewolf. She soon makes the connections between her homework and the actions displayed by Lupin and has much more than dreams to contemplate.

That Sunday Eliza spent her time with Tom and Sarah, in the library, doing homework. She felt as if they would never see the light of day again, each of them had a giant stack of books to read and essays to write. It was cruel to be shut up inside on such a beautiful fall day, the leaves were beginning to turn orange and red. Eliza forced herself to look away from the tempting outdoors, and back to her Potions essay. Sarah sleepily looked up from her parchment, glanced over at her Herbology book and yawned loudly.

“How’s the teaching assistant job with Professor Lupin ‘Liza?” Sarah asked with a yawn still in her voice. Tom gazed up at them slowly waking up and out of his stupor.

“It’s going really well! Yesterday we went to the Black Lake to get a grindylow for lessons this week. I got to use an advanced sealing spell on the cage! Last week after the boggart we started on red caps and hinkypunks. He’s so intelligent and nice, I’m really learning a lot from him,” Eliza gushed her voice faltering at the end. She blushed a rosy shade of pink thinking about how good he smelled, and how close his lips had been to touching hers. Tom caught on quickly to her blushing state and looked up at her with a knowing grin, his blue eyes twinkling.

“He’s quite young. Don’t you think Lizzie? Sure, it looks like he’s starting to grey up a bit but I don’t think you’d have an issue with a silver fox. You did always like older men. Remember when you dated Charlie Weasley when he was in his seventh year and you in your fourth?” Tom said with a teasing smile, causing Eliza to blush more. Despite the age gap her relationship with Charlie had lasted the entirety of his seventh year. Sarah gaped at Eliza as she pieced things together. She shut her Herbology book, refusing to acknowledge anything but Eliza’s love life.

“ELIZA DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?!” She shouted. Eliza was relieved to hear excitement in her voice instead of judgement. But Sarah’s scream caused half of the library occupants to stare at them. Eliza grabbed her arm and shushed her, leaning in so she could talk to them in private.

“Ah-um. I don’t know. He’s, well, the nicest man I’ve ever met. He really helped comfort me when I was upset over my patronus memory. Oh, I don’t know. He’s just a warm person, isn’t he?” Eliza said in almost a trancelike state. Tom and Sarah elbowed each other with smirks plastered onto their faces. Snapping out of her brief daydream Eliza threw her quill at them.

“Stop that! I mean it! Don’t encourage it, guys he’s my teacher and I have to be alone with him frequently. I can’t have these thoughts about him or dreams…” she trailed off, covering her mouth quickly once she realized her blunder. She once again longed to jump off of the Astronomy tower.

“Lizzie,” gasped Tom incredulously, he looked around and leaned in before continuing. “Have you been having wet dreams about our dear Professor Lupin?” Eliza blushed a deep scarlet and buried her face in her hands. Their laughing stopped once Sarah and Tom realized how mortified Eliza was. She felt Sarah’s hand on her shoulder. Eliza looked up at them and fiddled with her watch miserably, she could feel the frustration building up inside of her like a time bomb.

“It was only once. I swear. But guys I can’t get it or him out of my head! Whenever I see him the dream is all I can think about. It’s so embarrassing! I’m acting like a silly, starry-eyed BIMBO,” Eliza lamented angrily. She slammed her books onto the table with a furious look on her face. She hated herself for having these feelings for a teacher. If it was just a silly little crush Eliza wouldn’t be craving to see him every day. Tom rubbed her back with a pitiful expression on his face. He shot worried glances to Sarah who was much better at all things regarding Eliza’s feelings.

“You’re not a bimbo Eliza. Are you blind to the way he looks at you?” Sarah asked gently. “You’re absolutely brilliant but honestly you can be so daft when it comes down to affection, especially if it’s directed at you! I even heard a third year talking about it, she’s in Hufflepuff mind you,” Sarah paused as Eliza’s eyes widened in fear, causing Sarah to backtrack. “Relax Lizzie, everybody thinks she’s reading too far into things anyways. But, she noticed how he gazes at you when you teach the class. Honestly, I’ve even caught him blushing once or twice when you ask a question in class! Lupin is never not smiling at you, and every single time you do something even if it’s minuscule, he will find some way to compliment you. If anything, he admires you very much.” Sarah stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Her observation made Eliza’s stomach flutter with what felt like a fleet of butterflies.

Later that night Eliza couldn’t stop dwelling on what Sarah had told her earlier. Was she really so thick to not even notice his actions around her? She supposed any observations she could make on the matter would have to wait until Defense the Dark Arts the following afternoon.

 

Eliza walked down to the Great Hall that Monday morning thoroughly exhausted. She’d had another dream about Professor Lupin, this time he had been fucking her in the Ravenclaw girl’s dormitory. Once waking up from it, she found herself utterly unable to fall back asleep, her mind lingering with guilty thoughts. Sitting down at the Ravenclaw table she sipped pumpkin juice absentmindedly when a school owl dropped a letter in front of her. Curiously, she unrolled the piece of parchment and read Professor Lupin’s untidy scrawl:

 

_Eliza,_

 

_We will not be having our planning sessions together this week because I am ill and need rest. However, please assist Professor Snape with what we had planned for this week, continuing with red caps and hinkypunks. I’d like you to lead the third years this week in lessons. I look forward to seeing you again the following week._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor Lupin_

 

Eliza felt her heart sink, she wouldn’t even be able to see Professor Lupin this week, and even worse she’d have to deal with Professor Snape in daily triple doses. Sighing heavily, she heaved her bag over her shoulder and began the walk to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

She walked in and was confused to see Professor Snape already setting up materials for the third years lesson. He had made the classroom as dark as the Potions dungeon by closing all of the blinds. Snape set up the projector in the back of the classroom and was organizing the corresponding slides when Eliza loudly cleared her throat.

“Good morning Ms. Wilson. I’m assuming you’ve received Professor Lupin’s owl?” He asked her slowly. Snape looked at her as if she was a cockroach. Eliza glanced down at the slide he was holding, and saw it had a picture of a werewolf on it.

“Werewolves? Sir, didn’t Professor Lupin tell you that I would be leading the lessons this week? Also, we are nowhere near beginning werewolves, we’ve only just begun red caps and hinkypunks.” Eliza stated not daring to look away from Professor Snape, he looked infuriated, but smiled coldly. It was rare for Eliza to muster the courage to even start an argument, let alone quarrel with a teacher. Snape looked genuinely surprised at the sharpness of her tone. He paused briefly to put a slide onto the projector.

“Yes, he did inform me of this. But as you are not actually a professor I feel it best you don’t teach. On the matter of werewolves, I’d like you to do additional research for this week's lessons. Focus intently on identifying a werewolf while in its human form.” He stated in an oily manner. Eliza was bubbling with fury. Why was Snape disregarding Lupin’s lesson plan completely? He was also being unusually rude to Eliza. Someone who he occasionally would favor in the Potions dungeon. She grit her teeth and forced herself to fight for her and Lupin’s lesson plan, despite how uncomfortable this confrontation made her.

“Sir that’s not really necessary. I’ve already learned about werewolves and remember the information quite well. I don't see the point in knowing how to identify a werewolf when it’s not transformed. Professor Snape werewolves aren’t even dangerous while they’re human...” Eliza tried to explain but she was silenced with a furious look from Snape. He didn’t seem to want any sort of interruption from Eliza.

“You will do as I say Ms. Wilson. Now your presence is no longer needed or wanted in this classroom!” Snape barked and pointed for her to leave. She stood there in shock for a second, eyes clouding with white hot fury.

“Whatever you say, Professor.” She hissed and left the room before he could take away house points. Eliza irritably stormed up to the library to do Snape’s stupid werewolf research. If it was actually useful information about werewolves, fine, whatever, she wouldn’t have an issue with it. But it was meaningless, no one needs to identify a werewolf while its human. It’s bad enough how much prejudice werewolves get in wizarding society. They are hardly even able to keep a steady job because their coworkers report them so frequently.

She spent the better part of her free period writing werewolf notes onto a piece of parchment. Which correctly proved to be a waste of time. Because she knew all of the information she was recording. Up until she came to a section about spotting a werewolf while in its human form, the information Snape seemed eager for her to record. She could briefly recall a couple of facts Quirrell had told her when she was in her fourth year. But none of the information had really stuck, stopping the werewolf while it was in wolf form was far more important. A certain section on identifying a werewolf made her stomach sink:

“While in its human form, the werewolf is easily disguised as an ordinary man. However, there are telling signs that distinguish the werewolf from others. Firstly, there will be notable scarring on the face due to severe aggression while in the werewolf form. If secluded from others, the werewolf will have no other means of releasing this aggression besides attacking itself. The man will also have signs of stress on the body from the harsh transformations, these vary from greying hair to noticeable exhaustion. Lastly, the man will become increasingly weak and ill during the course of the Lunar cycle up until he transforms. If a colleague has traceable disappearances from the workplace, he may be a werewolf.”

Eliza reread that last sentence nearly ten times as the information swirled around her head. Professor Lupin fell victim to all of these signs. The scarring, the greying hair, and he had said he was going to be missing for the entire week. The moon had been gradually getting bigger and brighter over the weekend. Eliza mused that this meant the full moon would be arriving sometime this week. Coincidentally, the same week Professor Lupin was missing from classes. He was constantly carrying around chocolate which served as an energy boost when Dark creatures deprived wizards of their health. If he was a werewolf, chocolate would be especially important to making sure the transformation didn’t entirely affect his health. She chastised herself, if, there was no if. Professor Lupin very clearly fit every single item on that list. Eliza ventured to guess that Snape chose the subject of werewolves for the sole purpose of exposing Lupin. Did his desire for the DADA position really go so deep as to expose another teacher?

Eliza felt too sick to eat lunch that day and left the Great Hall early, saddened by the sight of Lupin’s empty chair. At first, she didn’t know how she felt about him being a werewolf. But after pondering it for most of the afternoon she decided it didn’t alter her feelings for him. It’s not like being a werewolf made him any less kind, on the contrary, he was far nicer than a lot of wizards she had met. It infuriated Eliza that Snape was trying to expose him, he was probably bitter that Lupin was such a favorite among the students. Snape must know about Neville Longbottom’s boggart turning into him with his grandmother's clothes.

With newfound determination she strode away from the Ravenclaw table and up the steps to deliver Snape the information on werewolves. Her heart was set on deferring him from the lesson, she also wanted to see how the third years reacted to Lupin’s absence.

She entered the classroom relatively early, there were only a couple of her third years seated at the desks. They beamed up at her as Eliza entered the room.

“Eliza, where is Professor Lupin?” Dean Thomas, a young Gryffindor boy, asked her. Before Eliza could respond Snape stalked inside the classroom. 

“Ms. Wilson,” Snape began sharply. “What are you doing back here? I do remember telling you that your services were not needed today.” Eliza held in all of her anger and handed Snape the piece of parchment roughly.

“Here is your information, sir. I found it rather odd that you wanted me to research the classifications of a werewolf instead of ways to defend oneself from it.” Eliza said pleasantly, her words sharp as knives. Snape’s black eyes narrowed suspiciously, his face twisting into a grimace.

“Right. Well I think it’s best to inform students of all aspects of a werewolf. You never know when you may encounter one.” He stated slowly, trying to clue Eliza on what she already knew. She merely gave him a sickly-sweet smile in response.

“Even if one did encounter a werewolf, he doesn’t do much harm in human form. Sir, Professor Lupin cleared this portion of my schedule strictly for participating in the third years teaching. I would be technically breaking the rules and skipping class if I left. Therefore, if you refuse to let me teach, I will stay and observe.” Eliza said simply, and without waiting for Snape’s response, seated herself in the back of the room. She pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag, with her quill and ink close at hand. She would record everything Snape taught and tell Lupin what happened. Then, maybe Snape would get into trouble with Dumbledore. He’d have to get into trouble for trying to expose Lupin’s secret. The other professor’s must know, and she could guarantee that Dumbledore swore them to secrecy. She imagined what it would be like to see Snape sacked for this. _That would be highly satisfying,_ thought the Ravenclaw with a smirk.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Lupin is back and Eliza's day to day schedule is relatively back to normal, she finds it odd how calm he is about Snape taking over his lesson. Eliza can't help but have another dream about her dear Professor...

Snape’s lesson turned out to be far worse than Eliza expected, and she prayed that the third years decided to procrastinate the essay until Lupin came back. She knew he would disregard it entirely, simply based on the fact that Snape wasn’t even supposed to be teaching. Every word out of his mouth hinted at the fact that Lupin was a werewolf. Eliza was terrified someone would figure it out and report the secret. She didn’t want Lupin to get fired, he was a brilliant teacher, and was more than deserving of the position.

Finally, the week was over and she found herself once again busy with homework. When she went to the library with Tom and Sarah, Eliza double checked to make sure none of the werewolf books were missing. Thankfully, they were all still there. She was also grateful that her friends didn’t continue to badger her about Professor Lupin. They could see that Eliza was obviously miserable, and didn’t want her to dwell on the teacher or her affection towards him. Despite all of this she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She longed to see him. Eliza had never felt such a desire before. She wanted to hear his soothing voice, touch his warm hand, and inhale his sweet scent of chocolate, cinnamon, and sandalwood.  Eliza was well aware that even when she did see Professor Lupin in the upcoming week, she couldn’t embrace him like she longed to. He was her teacher. That reminder was constantly being repeated throughout her consciousness, and yet it never stuck around for very long.

It was the first time Eliza had ever been excited for a Monday. That morning she woke up early, unable to sleep due to her excitement. She quietly opened her trunk and got out two bars of Honeydukes chocolate. Eliza stuffed the sweets into her robes and headed down to the Great Hall. She looked around the empty room and sighed to herself, finally after a week of Snape she would see Professor Lupin. He would flash her a warm smile, the kind that made his green eyes soften, which in turn made her poor heart skip a beat. After finishing her porridge Eliza nearly sprinted up to Professor Lupin’s office. She knocked promptly on the wooden door and waited impatiently. Her stomach fluttered with butterflies when he opened the door. Sarah was right, she noticed how his eyes brightened when he saw her. Professor Lupin was in rough shape though. There were a few new scars on his face and neck. The sandy brown shade of his hair looked greyer, and he was paler and skinnier than usual. Eliza’s heart dropped into her stomach, this was the absolute confirmation that he was a werewolf, meaning that Snape clearly had some hidden vendetta against Lupin.

“Good morning Eliza, you’re looking well rested and chipper,” he paused, noticing how concerned she looked and added with a reassuring grin. “Don’t worry, I’ve looked worse.” He waved her inside and she sat down at her usual place, the chair in front of his desk. She was in such a hurry to pass along the information, Eliza completely ignored any form of pleasantries.

“Professor, I wanted to let you know that Professor Snape disregarded everything you said in your letter. He skipped water creatures completely and started teaching the third years about werewolves,” Lupin stiffened at this and Eliza hurriedly ripped out her piece of parchment with research. Lupin’s already pale face went stark white as he read her notes:

_Identifications of a Werewolf_

_Noticeable scarring on face and neck (due to aggression that occurs during transformations)_

_Stress on the body, appearing in greying of the hair and fine lines on the face. (Prominent aging)_

_Notable illness during the end of the lunar cycle, the person will have prompt, monthly disappearances. Once returning to their post, the person will still be showing signs of illness-- pale, slender, new scars._

_** Important to note that lycanthropy doesn’t affect the person’s ability to perform their job well, on the contrary, multiple victims of lycanthropy are brilliant in their post. But are dismissed due to EXTREME prejudice **_

“He was rather biased. Not only did he disregard wolfsbane potion and its properties completely. He forced me to do research on spotting a werewolf while he was in his human form. Which was rather daft of him,” she exclaimed.  Lupin silenced her with a stern look, she probably shouldn’t have insulted Snape, but couldn’t help but be furious about the whole situation.

“Because, when a werewolf is in his human form, he is harmless! He also wouldn’t let me teach, which was incredibly frustrating, because I would have been able to teach the third years something useful about werewolves! Then, he assigned them all an essay that was due this week, which is silly because we all knew you were only gone for last week.” She huffed out angrily, he couldn’t hide the small smirk that graced his face at the idea of her standing up for him. He knew from the last note in her research that she must have stood up to Snape.

“Thank you for letting me know Eliza. When we meet with the third years this afternoon I will give them word that they don’t have to write the essay.” Lupin stated calmly. Eliza was surprised he wasn’t angry, for God’s sake, he must know Snape was trying to expose him.

Standing up to leave for Charms Eliza thrust her hand into her robes pocket and pulled out the two chocolate bars, handing them to the professor.

“I really hope you’re feeling better Professor. I don’t think I can bear seeing Snape in three separate classes again.” Lupin surprised Eliza with a loud chuckle, and she beamed back at him. “I missed you. I hope this helps.” She said softly. Lupin looked as though he might cry. He was staring at her in wild amazement. Lupin had an inkling that she knew his secret, but for whatever reason, she didn’t believe him to be a monster. It was the first time he had felt acceptance since his days as a student.

“Thank you, Eliza. It was a very long week, it felt like eternity. Especially because I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing you.” Lupin murmured sadly. She wanted to kiss him so badly, it hurt Eliza incredibly to walk away. She hated knowing his secret and be unable to tell him, or to comfort him the way he does her. Eliza hoped he had caught on to double meaning behind the chocolate.

Eliza didn’t daydream in Charms that day, for once she felt securely rooted in reality. She could tell her professors had been worried about her, when she made a hat perform a monologue in Professor Flitwick’s class he beamed at her and awarded Ravenclaw ten points. They all seemed pleased to see her back in her usual state of being. She knew it was because Professor Lupin was back, she had missed him terribly and was miserable having Snape for three separate classes.  Since she stood up for Professor Lupin, Snape no longer treated her with any sort of favoritism, he found any means necessary to attempt to humiliate her in class. More than once calling her a “know-it-all” when she answered his ridiculous questions about the potions they were brewing. Later that night she was lamenting to Tom about Snape’s unfair treatment at the Ravenclaw table during dinner. “He’s just dreadful! Simply because I stood up for what I believed in I’m now blacklisted.”

“At least you did the right thing Lizzie. It wasn’t right of him to ignore Lupin’s instructions. I wish I could have seen you snap at him.” Tom stated with a chuckle. Eliza rolled her eyes at him and took a bite of her roasted chicken.

“Oh, Tom!” She suddenly exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. “What if he fails me on my Potions NEWT exam?” Eliza slammed her head down onto the table as Tom tried to stifle a giggle, he knew she was being overly dramatic.

“Are you fucking kidding me Lizzie? ELIZA, come on!” He shouted, causing several Professors at the head table to glance at them sternly. She glanced up at Tom. Soon aware that Professor Lupin was still eyeing the two curiously.

“You’re not going to fail Potions. All the professors know that you have always had high marks in Potions, if Snape starts giving you crummy grades they’ll know something is up. Lizzie, you’re going to be an Auror, trust me.” He whispered. Rubbing her on the back before striding off to Quidditch practice.

Slightly less concerned Eliza went to the Ravenclaw common room and began reviewing the potions they were to brew this week. Trying to take extra care with the coursework now that Snape was giving her a hard time. Her bounding energy from that morning was quickly wearing off and she was soon fast asleep.

In the dream, Eliza was still reading over the ingredients and instructions for the strongest love potion in the world, amortentia, when she felt a pair of warm lips on the side of her neck. It was Professor Lupin, who continued pressing gentle kisses up the Ravenclaw’s neck until he reached the curve of her ear. As he softly nibbled her earlobe Eliza released a quiet sigh, hopelessly trying to continue her reading.

“Remus, please. I have to study.” She murmured as his warm arms wound around her waist, pulling her towards the edge of the chair she was sitting on.

He chuckled quietly into her ear and continued to kiss and bite the skin, slowly unbuttoning the top of her shirt. “I think you’ve earned a small break.” Lupin whispered seductively into her ear. Eliza felt a warm heat begin bubbling in her stomach. She grinned wickedly and turned to face her Professor.

“Why, sir. You of all people should be encouraging me to focus on my studies.” She stated innocently while batting her eyelashes at the now smirking Remus. He stood her up so she was backed up against the wall of the Ravenclaw common room.

“Eliza,” He sighed dreamily. Remus began to lean his head down towards her, delicately pressing his lips against her own, she succumbed quickly to him. Kissing him back, her Potions homework happily forgotten for the time being.

Remus moaned into her mouth as they continued to kiss, his hands were winding their way around her waist. Picking her up, Remus carried her over towards the couch in front of the fireplace. He laid Eliza down and ravenously began to unbutton the rest of her shirt, a small gasp came from Eliza when he started to kiss his way down her stomach. Fighting for dominance, Eliza quickly pushed him back up and straddled him. Grinding slowly on the now growing bulge in his trousers. She bit down on his lower lip, sliding her hands greedily into his sandy brown hair. Remus groaned from the friction of her body writhing on him. Eliza unbuttoned the soft sweater he was wearing and discarded it, she began to kiss his collarbones, once in a while nipping the skin. She then moved onto the floor in front of him, unbuttoning his trousers and palming him through his boxer shorts. Remus’s moans continued to grow louder from the Ravenclaw’s actions. Eliza smirked and removed his boxer shorts entirely, causing his cock to spring free.

Remus gazed down at her, a new hunger in his darkened green eyes. Eliza, slowly closed her mouth around the tip and began to suck, slowly, swirling her tongue around his erection. Remus released an almost animal like growl as Eliza pushed the rest of his length into her mouth. She continued the sucking and swirling motions as his moans grew louder and breathier, his fingers were tangled into her messy black hair. She brought Remus to right to the very edge and soon felt his hot cum spill into her mouth. After she released him, Remus greedily began kissing her again, pushing her skirt and panties down her waist and onto the floor. Remus slipped two of his fingers inside of her and began pumping quickly. Moans and whines streamed out of Eliza’s mouth as he curved his finger towards her g-spot, his thumb circling around her clit. Eliza was moaning into his mouth as he continued to kiss her, teeth scraping the bottom of her lower lip.

“Professor, please, please,” she groaned, tearing her mouth away from his as she threw her head back in pleasure. His lips began sucking on her neck, giving her collarbone little love bites, she was so close to an orgasm. Her vision became increasingly fuzzy and the sensations intensified.

“ELIZA!”

She woke completely startled. Eliza was still in the common room, though it was much brighter due to the sun streaming through the glass ceiling. She wiped her mouth of any drool and looked up at Tom bleary eyed.

“Wha-Tom, what time is it?” She asked with a large yawn, very aware of the fact that she didn’t get to brush her teeth the night before.

“It’s 6 o’clock in the morning Lizzie. You must have fallen asleep down here last night, guess Potion’s wasn’t interesting enough to keep you awake.” Tom told her. She rolled her eyes at his comment and rushed to the girl’s dormitory to get changed.

During her shower Eliza’s mind wandered to the dream she had about Professor Lupin. This had been the third wet dream she’d had about him, and with each dream her longing for him grew. Last nights had been the kicker. Eliza didn’t know how much longer she could go without kissing him or touching him. Her body was aching with desire and she moaned miserably. If she was going to have wet dreams about her Professor, her subconscious could at least give her was an orgasm. It felt as if her body was teasing her maliciously, she didn’t get to experience the reward if she wasn’t actually sleeping with Lupin. Hopping out of the shower Eliza got dressed quickly. She was incredibly concerned over the blushing state she’d be in when she saw Professor Lupin.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The distraction of her recurring dreams about Professor Lupin impacts Eliza's capability to get through the school day, her day takes a drastic improvement when she is able to produce her Patronus in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Later that night Eliza debates on confessing her feelings to Remus.

Eliza could immediately tell that today was just not her day. That morning she had to return to the Ravenclaw room twice because she had forgotten her textbooks and notes. Then when she finally arrived to Potions, she realized that she hadn’t finished up her reading on the amortentia potion. Snape had sneered at Eliza when she couldn’t name two of the ingredients used in the love potion. 

Despite the inaccurate answers, she was able to keep up with the instructions Snape had printed on the chalkboard, even managing to avoid being ridiculed by him. After continuous stirring her potion began to shift from a pale yellow to the pearly sheen that matched Snape’s description. Her happiness faded away when she caught a whiff of what it smelled like. Eliza leaned closer to the bubbling liquid in disbelief, she could clearly make out the notes of sandalwood, and the strong smell of cinnamon, and chocolate. She inhaled the scent, completely intoxicated but, she then realized it was exactly what Professor Lupin smelled like. 

Her face turned sheet white in an instant, was she seriously in love with him? She quickly thought through what created the smell of amortentia, it was individualised to fit what the person found most attractive. Eliza tried to think of a logical explanation for the smells, cinnamon, her mom always had a cinnamon candle lit at home. Therefore, of course cinnamon would be one of the things she smelled, it was home to her. She nodded in approval, that made sense. But she was unable to come up with an explanation for the sandalwood and chocolate, two smells she’d never had a particular affection for until this year. She cursed quietly under her breath when she caught Snape stalking towards her cauldron. He stopped and frowned, unable to find anything wrong with the potion. 

“Ms. Wilson, you have somehow managed to make a successful batch of amortentia, would you care to tell the rest of the class what it smells like?” Snape asked, his oily voice taunting her. Eliza grimaced and once again leaned forward to smell her potion. Oh she couldn’t help herself from taking a giant inhale, eyes closing as the beautiful smell washed over her face, making her feel as if she’d been sunbathing. 

“Um, it smells like cinnamon, sandalwood,” She listed off and then her voice dropped off. Snape would be able to tell if she was lying. He nodded at her to continue. “Also, Honeydukes chocolate.” She finished in a whisper. Snape observed her for a second before dismissing the class, Eliza sighed in relief, thankful that Snape wasn’t aware of who inspired her amortentia. 

Despite her relief, Eliza wished that she could skip the rest of the day, disappear into the library and never return. Eliza knew she would have to see Professor Lupin during Defense Against the Dark Arts and her stomach made an uncomfortable lurch. It was bad enough she had another dream about him, but for God’s sake, the love potion she brewed smelled of him. If Professor Lupin found out about her feelings for him she knew he would immediately remove her from the teaching assistant position. He would never invite her to his office for tea again, and ultimately pretend she didn’t exist. Eliza’s heart sank deep into her stomach, if he never spoke to her again, she wouldn’t know what to do. These musings carried her to his classroom and when he smiled at her upon entering she immediately looked down. She weakly returned the smile, wanting to disappear when she felt a burning warmth spread across her body. She then couldn’t help but think about her dream last night, the way his fingers had felt inside of her, oh she wondered if she could make him come undone like that in person. Eliza pinched her leg hard under her desk for her lust filled thoughts, and winced grimly, earning her a concerned look from Lupin. 

“Good morning class, today we will be continuing our practice with silent disarming spells. Now the key to mastering these is to concentrate incredibly hard on the spell you’re casting. I will let you know when there’s five minutes of class left, and then you can practice Patronus charms again.” Professor Lupin announced to the excited class. Sarah and Eliza got up and prepared to cast their spells. 

Eliza was so concerned over the amortentia she brewed in Potions, she didn’t realize Sarah had already disarmed her. Sarah looked bewildered and mouthed: “Are you okay?” to Eliza. She blinked out of her confused daze and shrugged back at Sarah. Again, and again Eliza continued to be disarmed and stunned by Sarah to the point where Professor Lupin observed them exclusively, casting worried glances towards her. He found it odd that she hadn’t been able to disarm Sarah once, when just the other day she was performing the silent disarming spells beautifully. 

“Eliza, are you feeling well?” He asked, very concerned for her well-being. Lupin crossed over to her and put his hand on her forehead and cheeks, checking for a temperature. Eliza’s face immediately blushed when he touched her, she felt increasingly ill by the second. But, wanting less attention from her professor she assured him she was fine. 

“Here eat this, it’ll make you feel better.” He assured Eliza while handing her a piece of chocolate. Her face paled as he handed her the sweet treat, and ate it before he could question her any further. 

“Alright seventh years, begin practicing Patronus charms! You are all making brilliant progress, I could not be more proud of you.” Lupin exclaimed cheerfully. 

Eliza nervously turned her wand over in her hand, still unsure of what happy memory to use. Then it hit her. The feeling she had felt that day at the Black Lake with Professor Lupin, when she was sure he was going to kiss her. When he assured her that she belonged at Hogwarts. When she realized that he alone was able to make her feel  _ so  _ vulnerable and yet oh so secure. With this in mind she uttered the incantation: Expecto Patronum. She gasped in surprise when she saw a bounding, four-legged silver creature shoot out of her wand, the rest of her classmates observed the animal in shock. Eliza had been the first person in their class to produce a full body Patronus. As the creature neared Professor Lupin, it stopped running altogether, Eliza was finally able to decipher what it was. 

“It’s a wolf.” She murmured. Lupin and her locked eyes, his face was contorted at first in confusion and then something sank in, his face paled briefly before he flashed her a beautifully warm smile, one of pride in her accomplishment. In that moment, Eliza felt like she had been hit by a bolt of lightning, an electric charge seemed to be running through her veins. She was perfectly and utterly aware of how deep her affections for him went, and allowed herself to wonder if he returned them. 

“That’ll be all for today. Eliza, please see me after class.” Lupin stated, still rooted in place. Eliza’s Patronus had since vanished as she made her way up to him. She analyzed his face curiously, wondering what on earth he would want to talk to her about. Eliza was very surprised when he pulled her into a tight hug, her arms instinctively wound around his neck. She felt a very warm blush wash over her body, but she didn’t care, she was in his arms. She had never been so dearly embraced, his gentle arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, as if he couldn’t bear to have any space between them. But too quickly, he released her from his arms, a glowing smile graced his face. 

“I am so proud of you. Eliza that was quite the Patronus charm, it seems to me that you have found yourself another happy memory.” He complimented her kindly, she beamed back at him in thanks. 

“I did, I wasn’t sure if it would work or not. But, wow!” She sighed heavily, a wide grin plastered on her face. “I can’t believe I produced a full body Patronus charm. Professor Lupin thank you so much, for everything you’ve done for me!” She exclaimed happily, running her hands through her raven hair. Out of complete impulse she kissed his cheek and practically skipped out of the classroom, silly with giddiness. 

Remus touched his cheek, which was extremely hot to the touch. He knew his flushing state was due to Eliza’s lips. Remus wished her lips had pressed his cheek a bit longer, but that was neither smart nor realistic. Remus had already been toeing the line by hugging her, he could consider it to be a congratulatory hug, after all she had just cast a full body patronus. That deemed praise and affection, many wizards older than Eliza had never produced a patronus.  _ Her patronus is also a wolf, this has to mean something.  _

He briskly pushed the thought from his head, this was wrong, and immoral of him. He was her professor, someone she should look to for trust and encouragement, not romantic affection. Remus sighed heavily as he paced around the Defense the Dark Arts classroom. He knew that if anything happened between the two of them he would have to go to Dumbledore. Remus valued Dumbledore’s trust too much to breach it, especially since he hadn’t disclosed to the headmaster that Sirius was an unregistered Animagi. What if it was somehow his fault that Sirius had already been able to break into the school? Remus forced himself to stop dwelling on the fact, it stung too much to think about Sirius’s betrayal. He wished he confide all of his worries to Eliza, Remus knew she would give him comfort and advice that would ease his troubles. But he couldn’t. Today was too close, he couldn’t give into his feelings for her. 

Eliza was reading the Daily Prophet that night in the Ravenclaw common room when she was approached by a nervous looking first year who handed her a piece of parchment. She slowly unrolled the parchment and smiled to herself when she saw Professor Lupin’s handwriting: 

_ Eliza,  _

 

_ Once again, congratulations on producing the full body patronus, I couldn’t be more proud. I know this is short notice, but if you are available tonight, I’d like you to assist me with some pre-lesson prep. I wanted to continue off of Professor Snape with nocturnal creatures, starting with vampires. If you are able, please meet me in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at 7 o’clock.  _

 

_ Patiently yours,  _

 

_ Professor Lupin  _

 

Eliza’s heart stuttered while reading his signature, had he meant to write that affectionate of a letter closing? How come he changed from the reputable, “sincerely yours?” However, Eliza didn’t have time to dwell on the deeper meaning behind his signature, glancing at the clock she saw it was ten till seven. Eliza rolled up the scroll and shoved it into her now shouldered book bag. She ran out of the Ravenclaw common room, and across the castle to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. 

She didn’t even bother knocking as she burst through the door, doubled over and panting from running across the castle. Eliza could pick out Lupin’s laughter coming from his desk and looked up to see the amused professor walking towards her. 

“You know, if you were a couple minutes late I would have understood.” He continued his small fit of laughter as he took her hand and lead her up to his desk. She couldn’t tell if her heart was racing from running or from the sensation of his hand on her own. Eliza set down her book back on an empty desk and removed her robe, the classroom was extremely hot. 

“I’m surprised sir, I didn’t expect you to stick to Professor Snape’s lesson plan.” Eliza said. Lupin’s green eyes avoided her piercing stare as he sorted through his notes. 

“Well, I decided that the third years would be less interested in water creatures after learning about werewolves. So I decided to stick with the momentum from Professor Snape’s lesson. Except we will be covering vampires. For you, I think this will pair nicely with the spells we are learning in the NEWT level. Now for tonight Eliza we are going to look through the storage closet and pull out different items that can be used against vampires.” Lupin said with a kind smile, he ushered her over to the open, small closet.  It was very tiny, just big enough for them both to fit inside. But although they were able to coexist together, even the slightest movement caused Lupin to brush against her. 

This served as a great distraction to her work, her thoughts lingered on the embrace they had shared earlier. It pained her so much to have been held so tightly, it was cruel knowing how good his arms felt around her, but know that it could never happen again. She could get him in so much trouble if anything happened between them, Eliza knew how hard it was for werewolves to find work, and didn’t want to put Lupin through that if she could help it. 

Eliza was stretching on her tiptoes to reach some garlic when Lupin accidentally bumped into her. They collided into each other, nearly causing the cupboards contents to spill on the floor. His reflexes kicked in and Lupin tightly grabbed her waist, pushing Eliza against the wall of the cupboard. Lupin and Eliza were extremely close, their chests were pressed together. Eliza’s heart was hammering in her chest as she stared into his brightened green eyes. They now roamed her face, watching intently how she was nervously biting her lip. It was driving him insane, Lupin felt his lust for her rise inside of him, he was so close to giving into every desire that possessed his body. Eliza noticed how his green eyes darkened considerably, despite their ferocity she could still see the tenderness in them. A flush washed over Eliza’s body, leaving her extremely heated. 

“Is it a bit warm in here Professor? Or is it just me?” She asked cautiously, his arms were still tentatively grasping her waist, with the original intent to steady her. But the issue of falling condiments were no longer of Lupin’s concern. A mischievous grin graced his handsome face. Lupin was healthy looking again. Less slender, his face had more color, and his sandy brown hair looked considerably more brown than grey. Eliza’s hands were still on his shoulders, and she refused to remove them until he showed signs of discomfort. But, neither of them dared to move, they were frozen in place. 

“Yes, very.” Lupin muttered, his voice was hoarse. Eliza raised her eyebrows in concern for him but he blushed hurriedly. She then realized that Sarah had been right. Lupin’s feelings towards her stretched further than him being a concerned teacher. It all made sense now, the blushing and small smiles. The teasing at the Black Lake wasn’t simply banter, he had been trying to flirt with her.  With this new information she swallowed her fear and began to lean in slowly, trying to gauge from Lupin if this was okay. He didn’t move, and began to reciprocate the movement, leaning in just as gradually. 

Lupin’s warm lips were soon lightly pressed against Eliza’s, she noted how much better this felt in person than in her dreams. The warm scent of cinnamon and chocolate engulfed her and dizzied her senses. She began to move her mouth against his, the speed increasing with their mutual desire for each other. Eliza moved her hands from his shoulders and tangled them into his sandy hair. A wave of bliss washed over her, and caused Eliza to tremble slightly as he continued to feverently kiss her. Lupin moved one of his hands from her waist and weaved it into her hair, his mouth broke off from hers so he could begin pressing warm, wet kisses down her neck. She sighed and pressed herself against him, longing to be closer to him.. She wanted to fulfill the brimming lust that was burning in her body. Eliza moaned when Lupin nipped her collarbone, he began to gingerly unbutton her blouse, moving his kisses from her neck to the flesh of her breasts. He flung her white blouse to the ground and stared desirously at the lacy black bra she was wearing. Lupin’s fingers began to slowly push down her skirt and stockings, leaving her in her bra and panties. He kissed the soft skin spilling out of her bra, undoing it and discarded the undergarment with the rest of her clothes. Lupin’s eyes glanced briefly up at Eliza to confirm that this was what she wanted, and she gave him a small nod in confirmation. This was all Lupin needed, he began sucking on her nipple while kneading her other breast. Eliza threw her head back in pleasure and released another small moan as he continued to suck and bite at her. She grabbed his face and brought his lips back to her own, the two began fight for dominance, her teeth biting his lower lip, and Lupin’s tongue slid into her mouth. They moaned heavily into each other’s mouths as Eliza’s tongue intertwined with his. Tearing his lips away from hers, Lupin began to kiss and suck his way down to her panties. Eliza gasped in anticipation, the heat between her legs only growing when he softly kissed her through the lace of her panties. Hooking two fingers into the undergarment he shimmied it off of Eliza’s body. She was now standing naked before him. 

He didn’t waste any time as he slid his tongue inside of her, devouring her in an instant. Eliza immediately grabbed his hair in ecstasy, her groans growing louder as Lupin teased her with the quickening flicking of his tongue. With each movement and vibration she felt the orgasm growing inside of her, her body becoming increasingly sensitive. 

“Professor!” She exclaimed, nearly hitting her head against the wall as he brought her to orgasm, Eliza’s body was shaking and her vision grew increasingly blurry. She was breathing heavily, coming down from her high. Lupin gently grabbed her hand and pulled her down to the cupboard floor.    


“In this type of situation,” He murmured seductively while nipping the skin under her ear. “I think it’s best you call me Remus.” Eliza smiled at this and Remus gazed at her longingly, tucking a stray lock of raven colored hair behind her ear. 

Eliza began to kiss his neck, briefly stopping so she could take off his sweater. She paused for a moment and noticed how pale he had gotten, before Eliza could ask what was wrong, she looked down at his chest. Long, jagged white lines resided all over his skin, covering his chest and arms. Scars from his werewolf transformations. Remus completely avoided her gaze, ashamed of the condition his body was in. She softly kissed his lips, signalling him that she didn’t care about the scars on his skin, Eliza loved his heart more than anything. She began to gently press light kisses to the scars on his chest, fingers grazing his arms soothingly. Remus lifted her head from his chest and thumbed her cheek. He felt as if he could stare into her eyes forever, the hazel shade shifted once more, her eyes had never looked so golden and warm. Cupping her cheek, Remus leaned in to press a kiss against her lips. Their bodies began to move in complete synchronization, Eliza palmed the bulge beneath his trousers, causing him to sigh. He then unbuttoned his trousers and took off the clothing along with his boxers. 

Remus started to kiss Eliza again, this time with more urgency. She climbed on top of him and moaned lightly as he sank inside of her. Eliza squirmed for a second, trying to get used to his length, and then resumed kissing Remus. He moved inside of her first slowly, but Remus’s speed increased as moans tumbled out of Eliza’s mouth. Groaning, he kissed her ravenously, tugging on her hair as he thrusted inside of her. Her moans were like a symphony and he began to angle himself towards her g-spot, Eliza’s release felt like seconds away. Remus began to thumb her clit and she screamed as the orgasm rode out like a tidal wave. A couple of seconds later Remus moaned loudly as he came undone.

They were lying on the floor of the closet panting, sweaty bodies still entangled. Eliza had lazily thrown on her blouse and panties, Remus was just wearing his sweater and boxers. Remus held Eliza tightly to his side. His fingers grazed up and down her back lazily, drawing patterns onto the soft skin. She continued to occasionally press a sweet kiss to his neck or chest. It felt like eternity before one of them spoke. 

“I want you to know Eliza.” Remus began slowly, sitting up slowly as he nervously glanced at her.  “I feel like this has been horribly obvious for some time now. But despite all of my efforts, I’m very much in love with you.” He confessed, biting his lip anxiously he focused intently on the ground in front of him. “I understand if you don’t reciprocate the feelings, I’m not whole or young, you could do better than me. After all, you’ve known my secret for some time now. I wouldn’t blame you for not loving a were—well, someone with my condition.” He stated sadly, eyes still trained on the floor, he fiddled with the buttons on his sweater. 

Courage once again possessed Eliza’s body as she cupped his cheek and lifted up his face so his eyes met hers. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. 

“I don’t care that you’re a werewolf Remus.” She stated firmly, holding his gaze with a ferocity he had never seen from her before. “You are the most compassionate man I have ever met. You sincerely care for the well-being of others, and have comforted me multiple times this term without fail. Despite the fact that I don't open up easily. Can’t you see that I don’t want anybody else? You are more than deserving of love. I don’t believe that you are “incomplete” and honestly Remus you’re not  _ that  _ old.” She finished with an eye roll which made him laugh. Remus looked doubtful for a second, but then he looked into her eyes. He could see the whole world in them, they were bright with happiness, and yet so soft. Remus knew in an instant that she loved him, the realization made his heart soar. Remus kissed her tenderly, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her tightly against them. Eliza smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, she had never been happier. Then she took notice of the time on her brown leather watch and startled Remus with a yelp. 

Pulling her clothes on frantically she fretted, “Oh my goodness it’s so late Remus! I’ll see you tomorrow?” She asked hopefully. After they were both clothed he walked her to the classroom door.

“Yes, I’m sure I’ll see you sometime this weekend.” He said with a small grin playing on his lips. She quickly pressed her lips against his and fled back to the Ravenclaw common room. Still in utter disbelief at the nights chain of events. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blissful in what had happened the night before, Eliza arrives to the Great Hall and is greeted with a surprise that may take a significant toll on her newfound happiness.

The next morning Eliza sleepily rolled over in her warm bed wondering if last night had been a dream. It wouldn’t be unlike her other dreams concerning Professor Lupin, on the contrary, the situation seemed to follow the usual chain of events that occurred during her lust filled subconsciousness. What tipped her off was a dull ache in her thighs, it felt as if she had run a marathon the night previous. With a wide grin on her face Eliza sprung out of bed and faced her mirror.  Her excitement bubbled when she saw the dark love bites circling down her neck. So, it hadn’t been a dream, Remus Lupin had kissed her and slept with her, all the while admitting that he also loved her. Eliza released a small squeal and lightly rocked on her toes, she had never imagined this would happen. She expected to repress her affections for her Professor, hoping that eventually they would die away. Eliza hadn’t been aware of his feelings for her either, she had sorely underestimated Sarah’s keen intuition for this sort of thing.

She strode down to the Great Hall that morning with a heightened state of mind. Eliza refused to acknowledge the obvious complications that would arise with her relationship with Remus. Instead, she focused on how for once, she was sky high on happiness.

The Great Hall had its usual weekend breakfast bustle, students were chatting and eating happily. As she strode across the room to the Ravenclaw table she caught Professor Lupin’s eye as he was exchanged in a conversation with Professor McGonagall. He gave her a smile that could melt the iciest winter and she couldn’t help but beam in response. She felt like the sun had long forgotten its place in the sky, making a new home out of her heart. As she approached the Ravenclaw table it was evident to Tom that something about her was different, besides the fact that Eliza had forgotten to use a blemish spell to remove her hickies. Tom yanked her hard onto the wooden bench with a squeal.

“LIZZIE!” He gasped loudly, once again causing a good number of the Great Hall’s inhabitants to cast them a dirty look.

“Are those hickies? Who were you getting busy with last night?” He asked, much quieter and with a wag of his eyebrows. Eliza rolled her eyes and started to drink some coffee.

“What makes you think I’m going to tell you?” Eliza jested with a smirk, filling her plate with eggs and sausages.

“Hmm, maybe because I’m your best friend? Come on Lizzie, at least give me a clue!” He whined shaking her shoulder lightly. Her eyes brightened as she made eye contact with Remus once more. His eyes were a soft green and he simply pressed his forefinger to his lips, a silent shush. Eliza reciprocated the action with a small giggle.

“Fine. We did it in a classroom. I’m not going to tell you who.” She said sternly, shoveling the food into her mouth before Tom could press her further on the subject. Before Eliza could reflect more on what happened the night before, a school owl dropped a rolled-up piece of parchment in front of Eliza. Unrolling it carefully, her heart stuttered and sank when she saw it was from Dumbledore.

 

_Ms. Eliza Wilson,_

_Please come to my study at 7 o’clock tonight for an urgent meeting. I will leave your anxiety to rest and reassure you that you are not in any trouble. I simply want to discuss with you your extracurricular activities._

_All the best,_

_Professor Dumbledore_

 

Eliza’s face paled instantly, her appetite now long forgotten. She glanced up at the head table nervously, she was slightly relieved to see Remus and Dumbledore engaged in what looked like a pleasant conversation. They were both smiling and occasionally laughing along with Professor McGonagall. She knew that Dumbledore had said she wasn’t in trouble, but Eliza had a gut feeling that he knew all about her and Remus. She could tell how ardently Remus trusted Dumbledore simply based on the expression he wore whenever the headmaster was mentioned. She knew why, Dumbledore must know about his condition, and he hired him regardless. In a world filled with prejudice against werewolves Dumbledore hired Remus because he was extremely qualified for the position. That must have meant the world to Remus, to finally be looked at without bias. Eliza couldn’t ruin that for him. She decided if Dumbledore rejected their relationship she would drop Defense Against the Dark Arts entirely. Eliza would be willing to shift careers if it meant Remus could keep his post. She’d be able to find another career that piqued her interest, it would be much more difficult for him to find a new job. Eliza wasn’t entirely worried about her meeting with Dumbledore. After all, she was considered an adult in the wizarding world at the age of seventeen.

The rest of the afternoon Eliza couldn’t focus on her homework or impending exams. She was anxious about what Dumbledore would tell her, and terrified to have to break off her relationship with Remus. Things had only just begun between them, the only reason anything had happened last night was because they both gave into their lust. Eliza had always wanted more than just sex with him, but she was satisfied with the physicality of their relationship. But now that it was done they could begin building something out of the physical affections. Glancing at the clock in the common room Eliza saw it was ten till seven and decided to head down to Dumbledore’s office. Once arriving to the ugly looking stone gargoyle Eliza impatiently waited for Dumbledore to come and greet her, he hadn’t included a password in his letter, and Eliza assumed he would wave her in when it was time. After five minutes the headmaster exited his office and greeted Eliza with a kind smile and a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

“Do come in Ms. Wilson, how are you this evening?” Dumbledore asked politely as he brought her into his circular office, Eliza marveled at the intricate decorations, the high ceiling, and the many paintings of former headmasters. She awkwardly sat down in the comfortable chair seated across from Dumbledore’s desk as he assessed her with an acute stare.

“Um, I’m doing alright. How are you Professor?” She responded quietly, her nerves were getting the better of her. Dumbledore chuckled lightly and breezily waved his hand across his face.

“Eliza, I would be feeling much better if I knew you were comfortable. Once again, I shall reassure you that you are not in any trouble. I merely want to get your side of the story. Remus came in yesterday at a very late hour wishing to discuss something of great importance. I have had my suspicions for some time about his growing affection for you. However, I am clueless on your feelings for him.” He explained gently. Eliza’s eyes grew wider by the second realizing that Remus must have told Dumbledore right after she left the classroom. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit betrayed by Lupin’s actions, but then assessed the situation logically. It would be beneficial in the long run if he confessed to Dumbledore immediately instead of keeping whatever they were a secret.

“Well,” she began softly, trying to come up with the right words to explain her feelings for Remus. “At first, I thought it was just a little crush, I thought he was handsome on the first day of classes, I thought I would get over it in the following week. Except I didn’t, he was so kind to me and he really listened, which only increased my feelings for him. But what really solidified it was, he helped me overcome a lot of self-doubt I had been having. You know I have a Muggle parent and am half-blood, parentage is still a determining factor to some wizards of your worth in the magical community. I sometimes don’t feel like I belong at Hogwarts, Remus reassured me that I do. Well, I thought that I would be able to bury my feelings for him because he’s my Professor and I know his secret and how hard it is for him to find work. I don’t want to be the reason he gets sacked. Oh, Professor please don’t fire him.” She explained, the emotion inside of her brewing as her passion for him grew. The elderly Professor observed this and a small smile appeared under his long silver beard.

“Eliza, I have no intention of firing Remus. It is clear to me that your feelings match his and well, since you are technically of age you are not breaking all of the rules. But, Eliza, he is your professor. Having relationships with students is simply not allowed.” Dumbledore told her his blue eyes narrowing sadly. Her face went cold and Eliza felt sick and dizzy.

“Professor Dumbledore,” she began slowly, bravely locking onto his twinkling blue eyes before continuing. “My patronus is a wolf, and when we were brewing amortentia in Potion’s mine smelled like him. Sandalwood, Honeydukes chocolate, and cinnamon. I have never been particularly fond of the smell of chocolate or sandalwood. He makes them attractive to me. It’s more than a silly little crush. Please, Professor, I will stop the Auror track. I will switch to anything else that interests me. But, he’s the best thing that has happened to me in a long time, and I love him.” She stated firmly, her voice wavering at the end. Eliza noticed Dumbledore’s beard twitching as he flipped through the papers on his desk.

“You cannot tell anybody. In order for this to work your relationship has to stay between Remus, you, and I. If word gets out that there is a relationship between a teacher and a student, Eliza you full well know I would have to fire him, and I do not want to do that.” Dumbledore said while standing up, he guided Eliza to the door of his office. “I cannot disregard how strong your feelings are for each other. Both willing to give up things you care about for the other, the wolf inspired patronus, and your amortentia smelling of him. This is stronger than a silly affair, Eliza this is true love. I am not heartless, you do not know the full extent of this, but Remus has gone through great suffering throughout his life. I think he is deserving of some love and happiness for once. Goodnight Ms. Wilson, you may leave.” Dumbledore concluded kindly, his blue eyes twinkling with a smile as he shut the door, leaving Eliza in the corridor to ponder what had happened.

Her heart was racing so quickly she felt as if it may burst out of her chest, she had convinced Dumbledore to let her and Lupin continue their relationship. The fact that it wasn’t over yet was enough for her. Eliza considered going back to the Ravenclaw common room, but she couldn’t deny the craving she had. She wanted to see Lupin, and actually discuss what last night’s events had meant, they had admitted their feelings to each other after all. Eliza checked her watch and saw it was eleven o’clock, she was definitely supposed to be in bed by now. But what was life without some risk? With a cheeky grin plastered to her face she slowly walked down the corridor and up the stairs to Lupin’s office. Making sure to keep a watchful eye out for Peeves or Filch, both of whom would surely be out and about. Once arriving to Lupin’s door Eliza knocked quietly, trying not to draw any attention to herself or the sound. She was thrilled when he opened the door a crack, hurrying her inside.

“You know you’re not supposed to be out of bed.” He gently chided her. There was that glint of mischief in his eye that told Eliza he was thrilled to see her. Or maybe the hasty kiss he gave her was clue enough. Nonetheless, she embraced him tightly, taking in his warm scent. She had never appreciated the smell of chocolate so much.

“I know, but I wanted to see you. At least for a little bit, I just finished my conference with Dumbledore.” She explained as he drew patterns on her hand with his thumb. Lupin looked up at her, his green eyes lightening with curiosity.

“He gave me the approval on our relationship,” she said, a small smile graced his lips at this. Eliza remembered what Dumbledore had said about both of them willing to sacrifice things, she blinked incredulously at Remus. “Did you… did you tell Dumbledore you would quit so we could be together?” Eliza asked in a whisper.

She studied his face intently, eyebrows raising as he began to gently run his fingers through her dark hair. Lupin finally succumbed to her stare and shrugged. “Well, I heard you offered to quit the Auror track if it meant I could keep my job,” he sighed angrily, releasing her from his hands entirely.

“Eliza, don’t sacrifice your future for me. Trust me I am not worth it. You have a bright future ahead of you and I refuse to drag you down. If Dumbledore hadn’t approved of this,” he pointed his finger back and forth between the two of them. “Then I would have resigned by the end of today.” He stated simply, eyes darkening ever so slightly. Eliza grabbed his hand, interlocking her fingers between his.

“What do you mean you’re not worth it? Remus, I know how hard it is for werewolves to get jobs. You would have been scraping by for work, work way below your paygrade mind you, and for what?” Eliza asked, her voice raising slightly as she put her hands on her hips. Remus ran his hands through his hair, getting increasingly frustrated by her stubbornness.

“It’s not your business to worry about me, Eliza please.” He whispered, grabbing her waist and gently pulling so she was standing in between his legs as he sat on his desk. “I am thankful Dumbledore approved. When I spoke to him yesterday I couldn’t tell what his verdict would be,” Lupin admitted softly, gazing up at her warmly, she returned his gaze and caressed his cheek.

“At first he wasn’t entirely convinced. But then I told him about my patronus being a wolf, and then, um,” she trailed off, embarrassed to admit her love potion had been influenced by him. Lupin could tell she was holding something back, but didn’t want to pry at her, so he settled for rubbing her back.

“We have matching patronus charms.” Lupin said, a little bashful smile played on his lips. 

“I assumed when I first cast it that it was a wolf because you are a werewolf. My happy memory had you in it so I thought it was just an influencer.” She mumbled, Lupin flushed at this. He didn’t realize he had such an impact on Eliza.

“What memory did you use?” He asked, brows furrowing in concentration as Eliza bit down on her lip.

“I used the day at Black Lake, when you told me I belonged at Hogwarts. I know that I shouldn’t doubt myself but I can’t help it sometimes, and hearing you say that, it helped a lot. Also, I recently realized that you were trying to flirt with me then.” Eliza said with a small giggle.  Lupin rolled his eyes and chuckled, his eyes crinkling ever so slightly.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. I tried flirting with you, I don’t know what possessed me to but,” he gazed down at her, pressing a warm kiss to her lips. “I had a hard time trying to resist you.” 

"Well, I could say the same to you. Remus you don't understand how incredibly handsome you are. Oh, and despite the whole teacher act, I can tell that you got into mischief when you were a student here. It is evident, especially so, when you address the third years and even that Saturday at the Black Lake." She said, a cheshire cat smile plastered on her sweet face. 

"I got into less trouble than my friends. They had both extreme dramatic flair when it came to practical jokes, and a gift for getting into mischief." He admitted with a smirk, making Eliza's heart turn to putty. He brushed her hair off of her neck and began to press affectionate kisses to the curve of her ear. 

"My dear, Eliza you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Absolutely brilliant in every way possible." Lupin whispered into her ear. His hands were beginning to graze her thigh, creating goosebumps on the skin. Her face turned a light shade of pink at his compliment, she sighed quietly as he nipped at the skin of her neck. 

Eliza briefly pulled away and gave him a fox like grin, pulling him by his sweater into a tender kiss. She relished in the way his body wrapped around her own. How his lips seemed to interlock her own perfectly, he read her like a book. Remus seemed to always know how to pleasure her. Maybe they were meant to be kissing each other in his office, a secret to everyone else in the sleeping castle. Eliza didn’t mind if she got no sleep tonight, she’d rather spend her time in Lupin’s arms, his hands gripping her waist as her hands tangled into his soft, brown locks. Once again it was too soon when he released her, bending down his head so their foreheads were pressed together. Lupin sighed quietly, his warm breath fanning over Eliza’s face.

“I have to go back, don’t I?” She asked while closing her eyes. Eliza felt Lupin nod and opened her eyes to see him off of the desk, standing beside her.

They embraced each other fondly, giving into one long kiss before Eliza quietly shut the door to his warm office. She silently walked down the corridor, across the castle, and back up to Ravenclaw tower. She would much rather be spending the night in Lupin’s office or bedroom; the teachers did get their own room. Eliza was positive she would spend the rest of term feeling this way, time spent with Remus seemed to go by in a blink of an eye. Distracted, she got the answer to the bronze eagle knocker’s riddle wrong three times before she was finally admitted to the deserted common room. Her tired feet carried Eliza up to bed and she changed into her pajamas in one giant haze. She pondered over the fact that her reality was much more enjoyable than any dream her brain could muster. While replaying the sensation of Lupin’s warm lips on hers over and over, she fell into a blissful sleep.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another restless night Eliza finds her way into Lupin's office... their relationship continues to grow as she learns more about his past.

 

 

Eliza underestimated the potency of her subconsciousness, proving her previous theory wrong. She woke with the sensation of Lupin’s tongue probing at her clit, sorely disappointed that once again, it had been a dream. She’d only experienced the real thing once and her body was aching for it to happen again. Eliza tossed and turned in her now sweaty sheets, her body wide awake with a newfound fire. She tousled her hair and threw the raven mess up into a bun. Eliza quietly slipped out of her bed and walked down the steps to the common room, she paced back and forth with her eyes trained on the speckled night sky. It wouldn’t hurt her if she walked through the corridor. The castle was cold and the contrast to the sheen of sweat on her skin would improve her heated state. She gripped her wand tightly and walked out of the Ravenclaw tower, fully aware that she would be in obscene amount of trouble if caught.

She wandered around aimlessly for a while, taking in the sleeping portraits that decorated the walls of the corridor. Eliza wasn’t sure why she kept having these dreams about Lupin, especially since much of its content had been fulfilled in person. She wondered if it was because she’d been thinking about kissing him before falling asleep. Eliza had never felt such a pull to another person before, she considered herself to be very independent, a man's presence simply wasn’t necessary for her to be happy. After Charlie she was fine putting off dating until after Hogwarts. Eliza was more than okay spending her time with Sarah and Tom. She knew it would be a struggle not to tell them about her and Lupin, up until now she had shared every secret with them. But Eliza didn’t want word getting around, she remembered what Dumbledore had said. If anyone outside of her, Dumbledore, and Lupin found out, Remus would be sacked, and Eliza wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for being at fault

The sound of footsteps drew Eliza out of her train of thought, frozen in place she gripped her wand a little tighter and looked around the dark hallway. She was both startled and relieved to see Lupin, his lit-up wand in one hand and a peculiar piece of old parchment in the other. Her relief faded when he gave her an extremely stern look, no light in his eyes, she was actually in trouble.

“What on earth are you doing walking around at this time of night? Eliza there is a killer on the loose, does that mean nothing to you?” She recoiled at the harshness of his words, Lupin’s voice didn’t reach beyond a whisper. But his words were sharp enough to pierce stone.

“I couldn’t sleep, I needed some air.” She explained weakly. Lupin stared at her for a moment and then briskly grabbed her hand.

“Well I suppose you’ll need to be punished for this. It’s breaking the rules to be out of bed this late, Eliza.” He spoke softly, his eyebrows raised. Eliza gulped as her heart sank, was he seriously going to get her in trouble?

“Are you going to give me a detention, sir?” She asked, thinking it better to not use his first name. Lupin’s eyes darkened when she called him “sir." His face shifted ever so slightly, the small smirk revealing a hint of mischief behind his threat of "punishment." Eliza gaped like a fish briefly before regaining her composure, a new warmth present between her legs.

“Ms. Wilson if you would please just come with me, I think we can discuss your punishment in my office.” Lupin said, his voice deepening as he winked at Eliza. Her heart hammered loudly in her chest, she was not used to seeing Lupin flirt with her much less try to seduce her. Eliza couldn’t help but be slightly turned on as he lead her up to his office, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Lupin pushed her against the wall, surprising Eliza with his dominance, his hands slid up her pajama clad arm and into her hair. He tipped her head back so he could slowly pepper kisses down her throat and back up to her ear. She yelped when he bit the skin under her jaw.

Lupin picked her up and carried Eliza over to his desk, once seating her he slowly spread her legs apart. He leaned down and began to kiss her slowly, drawing each movement of his lips out in an agonizing manner, Eliza released an impatient whine and Lupin chuckled at this.

Remus greedily wrangled the hair tie out of Eliza's hair, tucking a piece of raven hair behind her ear he kissed the skin softly and whispered, “Now, my dear Eliza, why were you out of bed?” He murmured and continued to sweetly kiss the tender skin of her neck as he hummed contently. Lupin was enjoying the desperate noises she was making, begging him for any friction, she couldn't stand his teasing act. 

“Well I—,” she trailed off, gasping as he slid his warm hands up her legs, slowly tracing the soft skin of her inner thigh as her nightdress was hiked up higher, and higher. The fabric just barely covered her upper thigh. 

“I had a dream, sir.” Eliza finally found words. She continued to bite her lip as Lupin rubbed her clit through her panties. He looked up at her curiously, green eyes considerably darkened. Before he could ask about the content she responded with a smirk:

“About you. In a situation a lot like this.” She whispered. Eliza let out a small moan as Lupin took off her panties, fingers grazing her leg as he removed the undergarment. Lupin’s emerald eyes locked onto her, there was a beautiful sort of gleam in the gemstone colored orbs that made him look younger.

“So, you’ve had wet dreams about me?” He asked her softly, once again devoting the attention of his mouth to the curve of her neck. 

She didn't have time to answer before Lupin slipped two fingers inside of her, moving them in and out at an excruciatingly slow pace. Eliza bucked her hips up for any movement. Something that would make up for the lack of pleasure her dreams brought her. This only made Remus grin as he pinned down her hip with his other hand. He brought his lips back to her own and she basked in the glory of that man’s mouth. Moving against hers with tantalizing tenderness, but with a desperation to satisfy. As their kissing increased in speed Remus would curve his index finger as he pumped inside of her, angling it ever so slightly to make it graze her g-spot. Eliza whined loudly and swore under her breath, craving for him to rub her clit harder. Remus gently broke away from her mouth and pushed Eliza so she was laying on his desk. Then he spread her legs a little wider and started to kiss up her inner thigh and biting the skin. Creating little love bites all along the soft, heated skin. Finally, Eliza felt like she had transcended, when he slipped his tongue inside of her. Eating her out with the same, steady and maliciously teasing speed as before. It didn’t matter how much she begged him to go faster or the stream of curse words that fell off of her tongue. He was relentless to punish her. Lupin was sucking on her clit while his tongue roamed in circles inside of her. He began to pick up the pace, his mouth causing Eliza’s moans to rise in volume significantly. She felt her body tingle and pulse as she felt a warm wave spread over her, as Lupin removed his tongue from her inside of her she basked in the warm afterglow of her orgasm. Remus sheepishly helped her get dressed, an everlasting smirk on his face from the pleasure he had given her. She turned to face him and pecked him on the lips quickly, tasting remnants of herself.

“How did you even know I was out of bed?” She asked while buttoning up her night dress. Jumping off of the desk Eliza wrapped her arms around Lupin’s waist and rested her head against his shoulder.

Lupin kissed her forehead and laughed softly, intertwining his fingers with her own. “I used this little map, I thought it had been confiscated by Filch.” He explained. Eliza could hear the nostalgia in his voice. “But, I suppose I didn’t factor the Weasley twins into that equation.” He added with a chuckle.

Eliza released him and eyed him curiously, Lupin pulled out the worn piece of yellow parchment and drew out his wand.

“I told you my friends at Hogwarts had an aptitude for trouble. What I left out was that their mischief combined with extreme kindness and loyalty helped create this map. We named it, “The Marauder's Map” it helped us sneak around the castle without getting in trouble. Through secret passageways in addition with James Potter’s invisibility cloak. It aided us nicely when we had to sneak out during the full moon, they became Animagi for me, to help me with my transformations.” He explained thoughtfully, a smirk appeared on Eliza’s face. She was right, Lupin certainly had been a trouble maker.

“Ah, I knew it. You were quite the troublemaker.” She murmured while batting her eyelashes. Eliza slid her hand up Lupin’s chest and tangled it into his hair, pulling him down for one long kiss, softly biting at his lower lip, and then releasing him entirely. She was well aware of Lupin’s now frazzled state, smirking to herself she looked at the piece of parchment on his desk. A whole stream of questions at the forefront of her mind.

“So, your friends were unregistered Animagi? How on earth did you guys get away with that?” Eliza asked, an air of suspicion lacing her voice. Remus smirked and kissed just below her earlobe, making her sigh quietly.

“I’m sure McGonagall suspected something was up, but maybe not to that extent. I certainly wasn’t as well behaved as you are.” Lupin said with a grin. He continued to kiss the side of Eliza’s neck, causing her to break out into a series of giggles. She was always caught off guard when he flirted with her, he didn’t seem the type, all shy and bookish. That was simply just a front, Eliza decided, she chastised herself for her poor intuition. Lupin was as sly as a fox, he knew just the right things to say to make her heart thump and skin tingle.

“How does it work?” She wondered out loud. Eliza turned the parchment over in her hands, looking for some sort of secret tab or marking. But the parchment remained blank.

Winking at Eliza, Remus briskly tapped the map and said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

Eliza was astonished at the black ink that spiraled from where Lupin’s wand had touched. It swirled around the map like a spider web, weaving out the castle and its occupants. She could clearly see Tom’s name printed out in what looked like Lupin’s messy scrawl. His name remained still and was hovering above what was labeled as the boy’s dormitory in Ravenclaw tower. The castle was alive on the vast piece of parchment, Eliza could clearly see Filch wandering around the corridors, and she made out Sarah’s name in the Hufflepuff common room. She beamed at him, mouth wide open in surprise.

“It’s beautiful.” She murmured, running her fingers over the smooth parchment. “You made this whole map while you were still a student? That’s absolutely brilliant!” Lupin blushed softly as he unrolled the remainder of the map, it was as big as the top of his desk. Eliza marveled at the worn creases of the map and looked up at Lupin. Longing terribly to paint a picture of a younger, less grey, and considerably less stressed Remus who snuck around under an invisibility cloak, causing mischief for those residing in the castle. Remus noticed her pondering and gently smiled at her, lifting up her chin so he could kiss her.

“Thank you, it took the entirety of our fourth year to actually create, lots of long nights spent in the library. Sirius hated those,” He finished, gazing down at the map with a fond smile. Paling when he realized what information had slipped out of his mouth, Eliza cocked and eyebrow and pursed her lips.

“You guys were friends?” She asked softly, aware of the anguish on Remus’s face. He looked down, a shadow from the blazing fire falling across his features, diminishing the scars etched into his cheek. Lupin absentmindedly traced the outline of Gryffindor boy’s dormitory.

“Yes, there was a time when I would’ve died for him. I didn’t realize he was a spy for Voldemort. No one suspected him. He was always fiercely loyal to James, Peter, and I.” Lupin whispered, his voice cutting off at the end as he blinked tears out of his eyes. Eliza hugged him fiercely, tenderly rubbing his back.

“I’m sorry Remus, I can’t imagine what that was like.” She briefly remembered what Dumbledore had said about his past. All of his friends from Hogwarts were either dead or a killer. “I know it wasn’t you that let him into the castle the night the fat lady disappeared. It was a full moon that night, you were a bit preoccupied.” Eliza stated as she pressed a kiss on the skin peeping out from his sweater, right between his neck and collarbone. Her fingers continued to rub up and down his back, softly weaving out a pattern over his sweater. Remus allowed himself to sigh quietly and wrapped his arms around the girl.

“Eliza, you have no idea how much that means to me.” He sighed into her hair as he drew her closer, she smelled like vanilla, Remus inhaled deeply trying to capture the scent. She was bundled so tightly against his chest Eliza could feel his steady heartbeat through his warm, shabby sweater.

“So how do you turn it back to an old piece of parchment?” She asked, gesturing at the map with her head. The distraction worked, Lupin grinned and released her as he once again drew out his wand.

Tapping the center of the map he said, “Mischief Managed.” The black ink that seemed engraved into the worn paper began to disappear, sinking into the map until it was entirely blank. Eliza let out a shocked laugh as she turned the map over in her hands, perfectly bemused at Lupin’s intelligence.

“You never fail to surprise me, Remus.” Whispered Eliza as she turned to face him. Lupin pulled her into another side hug and kissed the top of her head.

“I could say the same for you. Few people have shown such acceptance towards my condition,” While pressing a sweet kiss into Eliza’s hair, Remus noticed the faint beam of sunlight streaming through the small window. He sighed heavily, burying his face into the warmth of her neck. “It’s sunrise, as much as I want you to stay… Eliza, you better get back to your dormitory.” Remus said begrudgingly, kissing her one last time before releasing the sleepy Eliza. He cupped her face with his hands, not being able to resist planting one more kiss on her soft lips.

“Now make sure you go straight to Ravenclaw tower. I don’t want you getting caught, I suppose I’ll know when you’re back.” He said with a smile pointing to the ominous parchment that sat on his desk. Eliza giggled and rolled her eyes, kissing him again before striding out of his office.

Despite her exhausted state Eliza felt her lips and smiled to herself, they were still so warm, and almost seemed to buzz from his touch. Her heart mourned for him, she didn’t realize what Dumbledore had meant by tragic past. Some would consider her to have one. But losing all of your best friends in the course of two nights sounded unbearable. Two killed, one causing both murders. She envisioned a young Remus sitting alone at a funeral for three, grieving for the three dead souls, and the one who caused the loss. Eliza forced herself to push away the thought. Yet he still remained compassionate and loving, she couldn’t shake that fact. If everyone was as warm as Remus, the world wouldn’t be such a bad place. She could also identify the similarities in their histories, both were half-bloods, both lost people because of Voldemort. The age difference had little impact on them because of these similarities. Eliza was so in love with him she couldn’t fathom being with someone else, she only hoped he felt the same.

Once Eliza climbed up to the bronze eagle door knocker she half listened to the riddle: Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever tastes it, knows it not. Whoever knows it, wants it not. What am I? She had to have the eagle knocker repeat the riddle nearly three times before guessing the correct answer, poison. Finally, inside of the common room, Eliza regarded the beautiful sunrise streaming in through the glass ceiling, it lit up the empty room with a morning glow. After staring at the sunlight in a daze she tiredly climbed up to the girl’s dormitory, and crawled into bed. Wishing Remus’s warm arms were wrapped tightly around her waist.

As the end of term neared Eliza wasn’t able to frequent Lupin as often. She seemed to have a mountain of homework and studying to complete before holiday break, something she longed for and wished against. Eliza missed her mum terribly and was excited to see her for Christmas, but that also meant a month away from Remus. Eliza watched the snow fall from the sky in little tufts that resembled cotton balls. She was once again in the library with Tom and Sarah, the three had been spending long days cooped inside as they prepared for their exams. Eliza was certain Snape would fail her on her Potions exam, it didn’t matter that Eliza was excelling in the subject, Snape still managed to belittle her.

Slamming her textbook shut she plopped her head on the table. “I swear to God if he fails me I’m going to cry.” She exclaimed looking up at Sarah and Tom with a sour expression.

“He’s not going to fail you Eliza, you’re best in the class. It would be extremely biased. Dumbledore would say something.” Sarah half-heartedly said. She had to reassure Eliza of this multiple times already and was trying to study for Herbology. Sarah’s eyes grazed the worn pages of her textbook and sighed.

“I just want it to be winter holiday already, I’m sick of being cooped up in this library all day.” Sarah added with a groan. Tom nodded in agreement, fingers hovering over the cover of his textbook, in need of a break.

Glancing at her watch Eliza noticed it was nearly lunchtime, her stomach gurgled in agreement. “Let’s take a break for an hour. We can eat lunch and then get back to studying?” She suggested while biting her lip. Her friends nodded enthusiastically and the three of them headed down to the slightly full Great Hall.

These days the library seemed to have more occupants than the Great Hall.  The Ravenclaw table was empty, as most of her peers were far more concerned with their studies than food. Sarah joined Tom and Eliza and the three began to devour their plates, unaware of how hungry they were. Eliza risked a glance towards the head table, searching for Remus but she was disappointed to see he wasn’t there. She hadn’t seen him all week and was hoping for one more moonlight visit before they were separated for a month. He hadn’t called on her for any more planning sessions since they wrote the third years exam.

“What are you looking for, Lizzie?” Tom asked with an eyebrow raise. “Are you still hot for teacher?” He asked quietly, Eliza could hear the teasing in his tone. Sarah pursed her lips, seemingly knowing the answer to Toms question.

“It’s faded, I mean I still think he’s handsome. But, he’s my teacher, I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to.” Eliza said nonchalantly, she needed to both be believable and cover her tracks. She knew her best friends would never tell a soul about her relationship but Eliza wasn’t going to risk it. Sarah nodded thoughtfully and poked at her potatoes. Tom looked thoroughly disappointed.

“Damn, I was so sure he was into you though. After Sarah mentioned the staring I observed his behavior around you and Lizzie honestly he’s different towards you.” Tom whispered, leaning in closer to Eliza. She was happy to have kept her secret, she was sure Tom had suspected her hickies the other day were from Remus. Eliza merely shrugged in response, focusing back on her now cold lunch.

Later that evening long after the three friends had given up on studying, Eliza ventured a quick walk before dinner. Knowing at least if she was caught she wouldn’t be in a huge amount of trouble. She made her way up to Lupin’s office and knocked on the door, once, no answer. Concerned, Eliza rapped the wooden door a little harder, resulting in Professor McGonagall to exit her office down the corridor. She eyed Eliza suspiciously as she walked over to the Ravenclaw.

“Ms. Wilson what are you doing up here?” She asked looking from the student to Lupin’s vacant office.

“I just had some questions for Professor Lupin on our Defense Against the Dark Arts exam this coming week.” Eliza thought quickly on the fly, her cheeks were rosy from flushing. McGonagall nodded curtly and smiled at her.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll have an issue with the exam. Professor Lupin has nothing but kind words towards you, but I’m sorry Ms. Wilson. Professor Lupin has fallen ill and won’t be around until next week to conduct the exam.” She explained, a frown line embedded in her forehead. Eliza nodded, she had noticed the moon beginning to wax, she was still concerned about Lupin. But he had informed her he didn’t want her anywhere near the Shrieking Shack while he was transforming.

“Oh, okay. Um, thank you Professor. I’ll head to the Great Hall now.” Eliza whispered as she climbed down the stairs. Her heart sinking with every step, she would only see him for the examinations then. He’d be recovering from the full moon which means Remus would be utterly exhausted.

She couldn’t help but glance up at Lupin’s chair during dinner, Eliza fretted over the third years catching onto his disappearances. After all, while she was sure many hadn’t even started the essay, some could have done research in preparation. It was due the following week after Snape taught and they didn’t have word of when Lupin would be back. Eliza pushed the theory away from her mind, there wasn’t anything she could do about it anyways.

The following week she completed her exams with excellence and was even able to sneak Lupin a quick kiss in his office the night prior to heading home. He looked dreadful, her heart pained to see him so pale and sick looking. But Lupin’s smile helped to reassure her that he was feeling slightly better.

“Don’t worry about me Eliza, I have a whole holiday to heal and rest up.” He said kindly, giving into her endless kisses that peppered his face. Eliza cupped his cheek, a frown line clear on her young face. Lupin tried to brush it away with his finger, successfully making her giggle.

“I know, I can’t help it! I hate seeing you so tired. Promise me you’ll write me over holiday? It’s bad enough I won’t be able to see you.” Eliza said with a slight pout, she doubted her mother would mind the frequent visits her owl would make. Remus nodded kindly, kissing her deeply as he snaked his arm around her waist, drawing her tight against him. She grinned against his warm lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, happily sinking into the kiss. God how could she go without this for a month? She however broke away from him quickly, almost forgetting about the Christmas gift she got him. Lupin looked curiously at her as Eliza grabbed a poorly wrapped package from under her cloak.

“Happy Christmas Remus.” She whispered as Eliza handed him the package. Remus tore open the paper wrapping to find a giant stack of Honeydukes chocolate, chuckling to himself Lupin opened the last lumpy package. He was stunned to find a brown leather watch just like the one Eliza was wearing.

“I got my dad’s old watch, but that one was his father in-law’s. My mum told me to save it for the man who stole my heart. I know it’s cheesy but, I wanted you to have it. For a while I’ve noticed that you never wear a watch and I think it’s silly for you to be going around without…” Remus cut off Eliza’s rambling with a kiss. When he broke away Eliza could swear she saw tears in his eyes.

“Are you sure you want to give this to me?” Remus asked as he glanced down at the watch, turning it over in his hands. Eliza nodded and ran her fingers through his grey tinted brown locks.

“Mhhm. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before Remus, please just keep it.” She admitted with a shy smile. Remus looked at her thoughtfully and then ducked behind his desk to get something.

“I’m sure this isn’t worth as much as a watch, but I think it’s reminiscent of the day at the Black Lake. Eliza, that day was confirmation for me that I had some sort of affection for you. One that went beyond simply caring for your progress as a student.” He said gently, his green eyes significantly softened by the glow of the fire. Eliza unwrapped the neat, paper and unfolded a long woolen scarf. It was forest green and was made out of the same soft material as Lupin’s sweaters.

“That’s the day you gave me your cloak.” Eliza murmured, her body heating up upon memory. Remus wrapped the scarf around her neck and pulled the beaming Eliza into one more kiss.

“It’s beautiful Remus, it matches your eyes.” She whispered as she inhaled the sweet scent of chocolate and cinnamon. It smelled just like him. Lupin blushed a dark pink and pressed her against the wall of his office, making her moan softly as he kissed her. He bit Eliza’s bottom lip as her tongue slipped into his mouth. Sighing, Remus wrapped his arms around her waist, in turn Eliza tangled her hands in his hair. Which caused a loud moan from Remus as she gently tugged on the strands. They then broke away from each other, breathless and disheveled.

“I love you, have a good holiday my darling.” He whispered into her ear, pressing his lips against the soft skin under her earlobe.

“I love you too. I’ll write you when I get home, love.” Eliza responded. She briskly kissed his cheek and walked out of his study feeling like she was walking on sunshine.

The next morning Eliza begrudgingly boarded the train. She missed her mum dearly, but Eliza knew despite the festivities she would be busy at the University. Eliza would end up spending most of her holiday studying for NEWTS and trying desperately not to think about Remus and how much she missed him. Staring out the frosty window, Eliza could confirm this would be the longest month of her life.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After weeks apart Eliza and Remus are finally reunite after holiday break. They are blissfully unaware of the problems and consequences beginning to stack up because of their relationship.

Eliza woke up on Christmas morning to a loud rapping sound on her bedroom window, she clumsily got out of her warm bed and opened up the window. It was flurrying outside, the pink of the sunrise making the snow on the ground glitter, the perfect winter wonderland. She looked around for a brief second before being nipped by her tawny owl, Rose. Eliza smiled and untied the letter that was attached to Rose’s ankle, she opened her window a little wider so the sleepy owl could fly to her cage. No longer exhausted, Eliza climbed back onto her bed and unrolled the piece of parchment, her stomach filling with butterflies when she saw it was from Remus.

 

_Eliza,_

_I’m hoping this letter finds you on Christmas morning. Rose has been running this trek weekly so I don’t foresee any issues, she’s a sweet owl. Happy Christmas my love, I hope your day is filled with the utmost happiness and joy, things I have been feeling frequently because of you._

_The castle feels empty without you, I can’t help but glance at the Ravenclaw table in hopes of catching your eye, and then remembering that you’re gone. However, I have gotten a fair amount of planning for lessons done since I am not distracted by your little nightly visits. Maybe it's about time you stay over on the weekends, then we wouldn’t have to worry about you getting caught out of bed. But, then again, I could always insist that your detention be spent with me…_

_Since you have insisted on a health update, I recently transformed and have been in the process of recovering, I am relieved you are away for that. Nonetheless, darling, I’m looking forward to seeing you at the start of next term. It can’t come soon enough._

_All my love,_

_Remus_

 

Eliza read over the letter several times, blushing deeply when he mentioned a detention spent with him, heart skipping a beat at the thought of spending a night in Lupin’s bedroom. She hastily dug out her parchment, quill, and ink. Eliza began to write a response, eager to have any form of communication with Remus.

 

_Remus,_

_Happy Christmas love, I’m glad Rose has been able to find you so easily, she’s used to making the flight from Hogwarts to home. Mum often uses her to send me letters during term._

_I miss you terribly, I’ve just read your letter and am hurriedly scribbling this one out so I can get word from you sooner. I hope you’re feeling better and are eating plenty of chocolate, drinking tea, and sleeping. Despite the fact that you don’t want me around when you’re recovering, I’m hoping to be of assistance at least once during the coming term._

_Most of my break has been spent studying for NEWTS and reading. Mum’s been busy at the University so I haven’t seen her much. I wish you were here, it’s so lonely without you. So many little things I miss about you, like your eyes, the way I can tell when you’re up to trouble, and how warm you are. I’d rather enjoy a night spent with you in your bedroom. Certainly, it would beat trekking across the castle at 6 o’clock in the morning._

_I love and ardently miss you._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Eliza_

Upon finishing her letter Eliza rolled up the parchment and set it on the windowsill for Rose to grab on her next outing. Her heart ached terribly to see Remus, she grabbed the scarf he had gifted her from her desk chair and wrapped it around her neck. It still smelled faintly of him, the chocolate had since worn off but there was a hint of sandalwood and the strong scent of cinnamon. She was slightly more disappointed not to see him because her birthday would be at the end of the week, December 29th, and holiday wouldn’t be over until the first of January. Eliza daydreamed about spending the night in his arms, little kisses being displaced sporadically along her neck, collarbone, and further south on her body. Her stomach heated up at the idea, a familiar smirk fell onto her lips. She hoped to have another letter by then, but knew it wasn’t guaranteed, he was busy and Eliza understood that despite her impatience. Eliza refocused her thoughts on the idea of spending weekends in his bedroom once term started up again, her heart fluttered in anticipation. It would be nice to avoid being caught out of bed by Filch, so far, she had been lucky, but Eliza wasn’t sure how much longer her luck would hold. After all, Ravenclaw tower was across the castle from Remus’s office, it’d be easy for her to get into trouble.

Eliza’s thoughts rarely strayed away from Remus throughout the following week, her mom, Anna, could tell she was distracted by something, but assumed it was stress from her upcoming NEWT exams. She dropped Eliza off at Kings Cross that Monday, a frown line embedded in her forehead. Turning to face her mother Eliza noticed the line deepen and raised her eyebrows in question, she adjusted the green scarf around her neck and smiled at Anna.

“Something you want to ask me, mum?” Eliza asked, curiosity dripping into her voice. Anna’s glove clad hands rubbed her daughter’s arms in thought.

“You just seem so distracted, Eliza don’t worry about your exams. There’s still plenty of time for those okay? Listen, honey, just enjoy your last term at Hogwarts. Spend time with your friends, go to Quidditch matches, make trips to Honeydukes. Be rebellious even!” Both Eliza and Anna laughed at the idea, Eliza had never been a troublemaker.

“Thanks mum, I will. I promise you that I’ll have extra fun this term. I love you.” Eliza promised with a small smile.

"I love you too Liz, make sure to send me a letter when you get back to school." Anna said, kissing her daughter on the cheek. Hugging her tightly Anna kissed her daughter’s forehead one more time before Eliza ran between platforms nine and ten.

Her energy only intensified as Eliza sat on the train, impatiently watching the snow-covered trees pass as they sped through the English countryside. She could only think of Remus and how good it would feel to see him again, but Eliza also knew it would only become increasingly difficult to keep their relationship a secret. Her friends were probably still suspicious, Tom and Sarah knew she didn’t give up that easily, especially since they now took extra care in observing both her and Lupin. It wouldn’t be the worst thing if they found out, Eliza trusted them both to keep a secret. But then she remembered Dumbledore’s warning, if anyone outside of Dumbledore, Remus, or Eliza found out, Lupin would consequently get fired. What would happen if her friends found out? Surely, he wouldn’t need to fire Lupin if no one reported the incident. Eliza shook her head and leaned against the frosty window, she wouldn’t tell her friends as much as it pained her, if they found out on their own. Well, she’d have to deal with it then. She would have to try her best to keep it a secret, no matter what. 

When the Hogwarts Express stopped in Hogsmeade Eliza practically ran off the train with her things and boarded the driverless carriage. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest when they approached the castle, she couldn’t hide the grin that spread onto her face. She was home and going to see the man she loved. _Life couldn’t be sweeter_ , she thought to herself gleefully as Eliza exited the carriage. Eliza nearly sprinted up to the castle doors, throwing them open she continued all the way up to Lupin’s office, not even bothering to eat or go to Ravenclaw tower. Food could wait till later, after all, her mum had prepared a big breakfast before taking Eliza to the train station. There was no room for food in her butterfly-filled stomach. 

 When she arrived at the large wooden door Eliza knocked twice, her body teeming with excitement. Oh, her heart stuttered and her cheeks flushed with the heat of the sun when he opened the door. He looked better than she had expected, hair significantly browner, face flushed a rosy pink, frown lines nonexistent. Those beautiful green eyes smiled along with the rest of his face, he pulled her into his office and shut the door. Once they were completely alone Remus pushed Eliza against the door and began to kiss her, urgently, how he forgot how good those warm lips felt against his own. He didn’t realize how dearly he craved the small sighs she made. Remus’s hands were tangled in Eliza’s waist, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as they banged up against the door, too entranced with each other to stop. Sighing, Lupin lifted one of Eliza’s legs so it was wrapped around his waist, she could feel his growing bulge through his trousers. Moaning, Eliza began to grind on his trousers, eliciting a loud groan from Remus. He moved his lips from her mouth to the curve of her neck, leaving love bites as he traveled down to her collarbone. Eliza moaned and gripped his hair tighter as he continued to suck the skin, he quickly moved his lips back to hers. Breathless, Eliza broke away from the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck, Lupin welcomed the embrace and held her tightly against him. He could feel how her heart was quickening, her skin heated up upon contact with him.

“Remus, I missed you so much.” She murmured against his chest, she was much shorter than Lupin and had to reach up on her tip toes to kiss him. He grinned into the kiss and released her.

Remus held both of her hands and half swayed as he looked into her hazel colored orbs. “I missed you too. Happy belated birthday, I’m sorry I didn’t write. I knew it wouldn’t reach you in time and I didn’t want to risk it.” He admitted and Eliza gave him a reassuring kiss, she assumed that was why he didn’t contact her.

“Of course, I get it, my mom was starting to get suspicious of my behavior anyways. Thank you, I wish I could’ve celebrated with you. But we have time to make up for...” She said with a sly smirk, grabbing his sweater, Eliza pulled Remus down for one hot kiss when they heard knocking on the door.

Both completely startled, Eliza paled and sat down in the seat across from his desk. Remus, sheet white, opened the door with a grim smile. Eliza nearly sighed in relief when she saw it was just a student.

She looked quite young, Eliza assumed the Gryffindor was probably a first or second year, because she hadn’t seen her in class before.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but, um, Professor Lupin can I talk about my exam grade with you?” She stuttered out in a quiet whisper, her eyes roaming from Eliza to Lupin.

“Of course, Ms. Cleary. Come on in. Ms. Wilson, we can further discuss this terms lesson content at a different hour.” Lupin kindly said, he didn’t seem thrown off at all. On the contrary, the professional demeanor became him. Lupin smiled at Eliza, there was still warmth in the gesture, but he had stopped any sort of affection from gracing his face.

Bidding Lupin goodbye Eliza exited his office and headed back to Ravenclaw tower. She felt dizzy with anxiety. That had been too close. God, she reprimanded herself, don’t be daft, you can still get caught. Stupidly, Eliza had forgotten they had more to worry about than her getting caught out of bed. If Remus and Eliza were doing anything in his office before nighttime, they risked being caught red handed by a student or faculty member wishing to talk to Remus. They always issued a silencing charm over the room so no one would hear them. But still, it wouldn’t do much if Lupin was sought out by the staff or his students. He was still a teacher. Eliza had stupidly begun to disregard that pressing bit of information.

She showered upon entering the Ravenclaw girls’ bathrooms and then got ready for bed. Eliza wondered when Remus would let her stay over, and if that was worth the risk. They got lucky this time. Eliza was thankful that the student had knocked on the door instead of barging in on them. She tossed and turned in her warm bed, staring up at the illuminated night sky through the glass window. Oh god, what if she hadn’t knocked? Eliza thought nervously. There was really no way to explain the hot kiss her and Lupin had shared. An embrace, sure, she could fake some tears and act like he was comforting her. But a kiss would seal their fate. He would have been fired. Eliza promised herself to be diligent, she couldn’t risk visiting his office during the daytime, and if she did. It would have to be simply professional, nothing could happen, no kissing, no embracing.

On Monday morning an exhausted Eliza wandered down to the Great Hall. She had stayed up most of the night worrying about additional relationship-based consequences she had forgotten to acknowledge. Purple bags were evident under her eyes. As Eliza walked into the Great Hall she snuck a look at the head table, she saw Lupin, he was engaged in a discussion with Professor Sprout. He could clearly see Eliza but elected to ignore her. Hurt, she walked to the Ravenclaw table and sat down, miserably putting her head in her hands. He was ignoring her now, probably angry with Eliza for coming to visit him yesterday.

Eliza picked and prodded at her food, appetite long gone. She was simply dreading going to the third years lesson today, with Remus ignoring her Eliza was unsure how that would affect their classroom relationship. Sighing she got up from the Ravenclaw table, best to deal with the issue than be late. Once arriving to the classroom door Eliza took a big breath and entered the room. Lupin was busy drawing up a diagram about merepeople, the third years next lesson topic. Setting down her stuff Eliza went up to Lupin’s desk and cleared her throat loudly, making her presence known.

“Oh, good morning Ms. Wilson.” Lupin said kindly, Eliza recoiled at his sudden use of her last name, it was all too formal. She raised an eyebrow and filed through the papers on his desk.

“Good morning. So, we’re discussing merepeople today?” She asked, her voice distant and cold. Eliza couldn’t let go of her bitterness from that morning. Remus eyed her suspiciously and looked around the room before moving closer to Eliza.

“Eliza, we have to act professional outside of my office.” He said sternly, Lupin’s green eyes softened at the wounded look on Eliza’s face. “Yesterday was too close, we were being stupid. Fact of the matter is, I’m still your professor, I can’t treat you with any more affection than other students.” Lupin said softly, his voice significantly gentler. Eliza looked down in embarrassment, why had she assumed he was mad at her?

“I just thought you were mad at me for visiting your office yesterday. I feel horribly about it all, I’m so selfish with you and it’s not right nor fair. God, I’m so sorry.” Eliza murmured, her voice diminishing. Remus wanted to hug her tightly and kiss her cheek. But he settled for lightly brushing her hand with his fingers. That’s all he could give her for now.

“You shouldn’t apologize. It’s not your fault Eliza, we just need to be more cautious going forward. I’m not angry with you, if I ignore you, it’s because I love you too much. I don’t want to see you get in trouble.” He confessed with a small smile. She returned the gesture and nodded.

“Come by later, we’ll have to risk it with Filch I suppose. But it’ll be worth it.” He muttered under his breath, the conversation ended there as the third years began to file in.

That day Remus let Eliza teach the class about merepeople, most specifically, the ones residing in the Black Lake. Despite his attempt to keep a neutral profile, he couldn’t help but occasionally beam at her in pride, the students clearly loved her. They were engaged, asking questions, and really listening to what she had to say about interacting with the mermaids. Lupin wrapped up class and winked at Eliza once all the students had left, signaling to her how impressed he was.

Before leaving class, she headed up to his desk one last time, “Do you sincerely need me for any planning this week?” Eliza asked, as much as she was desperate to spend time with him. She longed to know more about the subject matter. Over break she had diverted her attention to a Christmas gift from Sarah, it talked about different spells and topics relating to DADA.

“If you want to swing by tomorrow night, we can go over our lesson plans for the upcoming weeks. I wrote up a couple over break, you can take a look and we can figure out which ones you want to teach.” He grinned broadly at her, so in love with Eliza’s relenting curiosity and thirst for knowledge.

“That would be wonderful, thank you Professor. I’ll see you later.” She added with a wink and strode out of the classroom, running promptly into Snape. Who in turn sneered at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry Professor I didn’t mean to run into you.” She hurriedly apologized, nervously biting the inside of her cheek. Snape raised his eyebrows, a cruel sneer plastered on his oily face.

“You and Professor Lupin seem to be getting on seamlessly well, Ms. Wilson.” Snaps causally added as they walked down the corridor. Eliza shuddered and looked up at Snape, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yes, well, he’s a brilliant teacher. I’ve learned a lot from him over the course of the year, sir.” She said nonchalantly, making sure to think on the fly. This apparently wasn’t the answer Snape wanted, he roughly grabbed Eliza and dragged her down to the Potions dungeon.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.” He sneered, Eliza kept her cool composure and shrugged. Still breathless from being dragged down the stairs, she rubbed her raw wrist with one hand and narrowed her eyes icily.

“I don’t know what you’re looking for sir. Professor Lupin and I are used to each other’s company by now, I’ve been his teaching assistant for most of the year. I regard him as a mentor.” Eliza spoke slowly, half lying. Lupin was a good mentor when it came down to Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, she definitely regarded him as more than her mentor. Snape continued to look furious.

“Ms. Wilson, I feel as if you’re unqualified to be his teaching assistant. Granted, your werewolf research for me has rendered you clueless on being able to identify a werewolf in human form.” Snape responded coldly, Eliza felt her temper bubble inside of her but diminished it. She couldn’t give into Snape’s taunting. He was gloating with those cold, black eyes. She wouldn’t let him win.

“Actually sir, I did learn how to identify a werewolf while it’s in human form. However, as I suspected, thus far it’s been rather useless. I don’t see the point in ruining someone’s life and reporting them. Especially if while in human form, they’re kind and considerate. Because the only factor about werewolves I’m concerned with, is when they are transformed. Professor, I’m going to be late to Charms.” Eliza concluded sharply, her words stinging like knives. She turned and left the room, leaving Snape fuming and red faced.

She couldn't believe that he was so desperate to reveal Lupin that he would drag a student down to the Potions Dungeon and interrogate them. Eliza, had a hard time believing this was about a mere teaching position, maybe Lupin and Snape had a whole other level of bad blood.  Though, Eliza wasn't convinced the hatred came from both sides, she knew Snape was a vengeful man. Remus didn't really seem the type to hold onto old grudges, however, Eliza didn't entirely know what their feud could be over. 

As the course of the day continued, Eliza became extremely worried about Lupin, it seems as if their relationship wasn’t the most pressing issue. Snape was very clearly trying to get her to admit that Lupin was a werewolf, which would result in her reporting him, and ultimately getting Lupin fired. At least in Snape’s mind, that had been the chain of events. She pushed her musings away, aware that she would have to bring another problem into her and Remus’s already complicated relationship.

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More complications arise when Remus and Eliza get in a heated debate about her confrontation with Snape. Their relationship continues on its rocky path, both unsure of how to resolve the issue.

That night at dinner Eliza pushed around her pork chop with her fork, gloomily staring at the head table. She knew Remus wouldn’t be glancing over at her, but he still noticed something was up and furrowed his brow in concern. The only person who said something about Eliza’s grumpy state was Tom, aided by Sarah. They sat down across from Eliza and exchanged worried glances.

“Lizzie, what’s going on?” Tom asked, no teasing present in his tone, he and Sarah looked at Eliza with extreme concern.

Knowing she couldn’t tell them the full truth, Eliza chose to do a half lie. “Snape gave me a hard time today. Saying I shouldn’t be Lupin’s teaching assistant, I’m not good enough or whatever. He wanted to me to get Lupin in trouble for his subject matter.” Eliza mumbled angrily, stabbing a bit of pork with her fork. Sarah blinked incredulously and gritted her teeth. She had a hard time grasping what part of the confrontation infuriated her more, Snape's blatant insult of her intelligence or the not-so hidden agenda he revealed to her. Why did he even want to get Lupin fired so badly? 

“He’s horrible Eliza, you’re an amazing witch and you know Lupin wouldn’t have asked you to help out if you weren’t good. Snape’s just bitter because Lupin is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had.” Sarah practically spat, Eliza had never seen her so furious. She glowed with pride over the loyalty her best friend had. Tom nodded in agreement, his blue eyes cooled considerably as they glared up at the head table. 

“Yeah, seriously Lizzie, half of our year would’ve failed last year if you didn’t step up. Snape is spouting a load of rubbish.” Tom whispered while shaking his head, the three of them glanced at the head table and watched Snape sulk. Lupin caught Eliza’s eye for just a moment and attempted to silently ask if she was okay, but Eliza only shrugged slightly. She wouldn't be able to give him a clear answer until she went to visit him later that evening. 

“Thanks guys. I don’t know what his issue is, he never used to badger me like this.” Eliza said and took a sip from her pumpkin juice. Tom and Sarah stared sympathetically at their friend. They were sick of Snape giving Eliza such a hard time, and thought it odd how only a couple months previous, the Potions master wasn't beneath complimenting the Ravenclaw.

“Well after this term you never have to see him again.” Sarah piped up hopefully, a gleaming grin on her face. Tom and Eliza laughed in response.

“That seriously can’t come soon enough.” Eliza muttered with a small laugh, she felt thoroughly cheered up and was happy to be able to disclose a small piece of information to her best friends.

That night Tom and Eliza stayed up in the common room doing homework, she was unable to truly focus on her Charms essay. All Eliza could think about is what she would tell Lupin later, how would he react to Snape trying to expose him? When Tom sleepily retired up to bed Eliza raced out of Ravenclaw tower, anxious to explain the whole situation to Remus. She cautiously crossed across the castle, having to hide from Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris, multiple times. Finally, Eliza safely arrived to Remus’s office door, she knocked quietly, so that he was only able to hear her.

Remus opened the door for her with his usual sweet smile, once the door was locked and the room enchanted with a silencing spell, he embraced her tightly. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips and pulled her closer. She fell into the kiss, allowing herself to enjoy the moment just a bit longer before ruining the mood with the information she longed to present. Moving her mouth against his softly, Eliza debated leaving it for another time, things were finally on the upswing and she didn't want to risk ending it. But, she scolded herself, who would Eliza be if she kept this a secret from Remus? Eliza gently broke away from the kiss and reached down to grab his hands. Lupin's eyes locked onto her in an instant, he debated asking what happened earlier, but had an inkling she was going to tell him anyways. 

“Remus, I have to tell you something.” She admitted, pulling away from the now concerned Lupin. He nodded his head and folded his arms across his chest, waiting for her to speak.

“I think Snape is trying to expose you.” Eliza said, nervously chewing her lip as he processed the information. She expected some shock from Remus, but he looked doubtful, biting his lip he cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Why do you think so?” Remus asked slowly, his green eyes narrowing considerably. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem phased in the slightest. Not even remotely nervous, which Eliza thought was odd.

“Well,” She was significantly less confident in her accusation. “First of all, he assigned the initial werewolf essay when you were missing that one week. Then today, he pulled me into the Potions dungeon and practically interrogated me about the research I did. He said that if I had done it properly, I wouldn’t want to be your teaching assistant anymore. Which means that his original intent was to clue me in on your secret, which worked. Remus, I wouldn’t have known your secret for so long if Snape didn’t push me towards the information!” Eliza first said calmly, but her voice rose in volume with her growing anger and realization. Remus shook his head and moved behind his desk, Eliza gaped at him in shock.

“Severus would not be stupid enough to try and expose me Eliza. At the beginning of term Dumbledore made the teachers promise to keep my secret. Dumbledore trusts Snape, therefore, so do I.” He paused and smiled at her, eyes exuding warmth and adoration. “You underestimate yourself. Eliza, you are clever enough to figure out what I am on your own. I know you, you would have found out eventually and on your own accord, regardless of what he had you research.” Remus said softly, causing Eliza to blink in surprise. A small grin appeared at his compliment but it hastily faded as her brain mulled over the information. Did he seriously not believe her?

“He was stupid enough to assign the essay in the first place. Do you think he seriously cares about Dumbledore's order? Remus, he substituted for you one week and he changed the class plans to talk about werewolves!” Eliza nearly yelled, shaking her head in irritation. Remus sighed and ran his hand through his hair and down his face. His gentle and affectionate demeanor fading as he saw how angry Eliza was.

“Well no one did the essay anyways Eliza, even if he was trying to go behind my back, it didn’t work! Why concern yourself with matters that are now irrelevant?” Lupin asked, his voice still alarmingly calm compared to Eliza’s shaking fury.

“They are still relevant Remus! Did you not listen to what I said? Today, Snape was trying to get me to admit that you’re a werewolf! If I had said anything that hinted at the fact, I would have no choice but report you. With the werewolf laws and how terrible they are? He was trying to be sneaky and get a student to do it so he wouldn’t be breaking Dumbledore’s rule.” Eliza exclaimed while throwing her hands up in the air. Her frustration with Lupin’s indifference grew stronger by the second. Remus tried to grab her hands, to try and reason with her, but she moved away from him.

“Why would Snape go through that much trouble just to get me fired? Eliza, he’s never getting that teaching position, Dumbledore has made it very clear. There’s much you don’t know, Snape owes Dumbledore a lot, he wouldn’t breach his trust like that.” Lupin stated irritably, his calm demeanor long gone. Eliza was too furious to recoil at the sharpness of his words. She was sick of being talked down to. Especially when she knew she was right.

“Why do you always tell me that? If there are things I don’t know, please enlighten me. I hate being in dark, Remus and I know you’re trying to protect me, but I can take care of myself.” Eliza said, shockingly calm. Remus looked torn as he sat down at his desk.

“I will tell you Eliza, it’s complex and messy, I’m waiting for the right time. When we have enough time for me to explain it all. Please, Snape wouldn’t ignore something Dumbledore has avidly enforced. Also, Snape has been brewing me wolfsbane for my transformations, if he were really out to get me, he wouldn’t take the time to make it.” Lupin said, anger still laced in his voice. Eliza sighed in frustration and balled her fists, nails digging into her palms.

“You are so blinded with kindness that you can’t even see what’s going on! Remus, he doesn’t care if he can’t have the position, it seems to me he has some sort of grudge and wants to act out a revenge plan. With the wolfsbane, you and I both know it’s because he has Dumbledore breathing down his neck.” She sighed while raising her eyebrows at him. Remus shook his head again, green eyes trying to grasp her gaze. But she was like a fire, pacing around the classroom her brain began to process the fight at lightning speed.

“He does Eliza, but it was when we were in school. He should be well over it now, please, I beg you to not concern yourself with it. If something comes up I will notify Dumbledore.” Remus stated, regaining his calm composure. While Eliza was much the opposite, she felt like a bubbling volcano.

“Twice, things have come up and you elect to ignore them! Believe what you want, but,” she sighed with a bitter laugh. There it was, the volcano was going to erupt, she felt the white-hot fury spread across her entire body. “Thank God I’m in my seventh year. At least I know that when Snape gets you fired, I won’t have to deal with another incompetent teacher.” Eliza snapped, words sharp as knives, her anger clouding her judgment and filter. Lupin’s face shifted from anger to extremely wounded, he stared at Eliza in shock. She shook her head again, trying to ignore Remus’s hurt expression, and left his office. Eliza didn’t slam the door behind her, despite her fury, she knew better than that. However, she did end up almost storming back to Ravenclaw tower. Her frustration towards Remus grew with each step, why hadn’t he believed her? Was he in such deep denial about Snape’s apathy that he refused to listen to anything she said? Her stomach sank, Eliza had seen his face, he very clearly took some of her words to heart. She knew that her explosion had pained him dearly, and Eliza hated herself for letting her anger get the best of her. She had marked Remus the non-confrontational type, handling disagreements on a different level, she even regarded him as being incredibly intelligent. How could someone so smart, be so daft?

Eliza’s anger had faded into regret when she entered the common room, she could’ve conducted the conversation without yelling at him. Collapsing on the couch she groaned into a soft, silk pillow. He had been trying to calm her down and Eliza just blew it off! Maybe he would have listened better if she hadn’t yelled. She blamed Snape, she was still riled up from his confrontation earlier, which had only dwindled her patience. Begrudgingly, Eliza hauled herself off of the comfortable couch, she knew she would have a hard time falling asleep that night. Her thoughts were teeming with guilt, Eliza hated her relentless need to be right. It always ended up coming back to bite her. The smug part of her brain whispered, but you are right. That didn’t matter, she’d hurt Remus, someone she loved deeply, it pained her to see him upset. She never acted that way with Tom or Sarah, they’d put her in her place before the volcanic eruption.

The next morning Eliza wearily put on her uniform and robes, trudging down to the Great Hall for breakfast, she fretted over seeing Remus. Eliza was concerned over the dozens of cracks that magically seemed to appear in their relationship, when only in December, things were going so well.

Once arriving downstairs, she spotted him instantly, her stomach dropped at his pallid appearance. His robes seemingly shabbier than usual, with little creases and wrinkles on the fabric. Eliza felt incredibly guilty, Lupin’s ill looking features must be because of her, the full moon wouldn’t be for a couple of weeks still. He looked like he barely slept at all last night, she quickly looked down to avoid making eye contact. Eliza knew she had to apologize for her comment, she was aware that she was right, but getting Lupin’s forgiveness was more important. She’d have to swallow her pride, something Eliza struggled with immensely.

After breakfast she headed up to Defense Against the Dark Arts, she spotted that Sarah had beaten her and rushed over to sit beside her.

“Are you okay, Liza? You look exhausted.” Sarah asked, concern flooding her voice. Eliza meekly nodded as Lupin walked in to begin class.

He avoided Eliza entirely when he addressed the eager seventh years, “Good morning class. Now this term we’re going to focus our attention on perfecting spells that will be on your NEWTS this coming spring. We will continue working with the vampire repellent charm. I have an inkling it may find its way on your exam.” He finished with a wink, Lupin seemed normal, at least to the rest of the class. But Eliza could see through the facade, every smile seemed forced, there was a lack of warmth in his usually kind eyes. He seemed thrown off.

Eliza swallowed her bubbling guilt and got out of her seat. As Sarah and Eliza began practicing the charm on the dummies, she noticed that Lupin actively avoided coming to check on them. Even when Sarah called him over for approval, he didn’t even look at Eliza. Instead, he directed the entirety of his attention towards Sarah and her questions.

“Professor, I don’t know if I’m getting the incantation wrong or if I’m making the wrong motion with my wand?” Sarah asked politely. Eliza stopped what she was doing and stared at the pair. Lupin observed Sarah while she cast the spell. Not taking notice of Eliza’s gaze or how she was gritting her teeth in anger. She knew what she said last night had been terrible, Eliza had suspected he would be over it by now, at least be able to address her in class.

Instead he was pretending she didn’t exist, it was worse than being addressed formally. She channeled the rage bubbling inside of her and with a flick of her wrist, cast the spell successfully, which resulted in the dummy catching on fire. That was the first time all class Lupin looked at her, while Sarah beamed and gave her a thumbs up. Remus’s expression made the accomplishment go sour, he looked so sad and hurt, reminiscent of how he looked last night.

“That was a good demonstration, Ms. Wilson.” Lupin forced out, voice hoarse. He quickly regained his focus and turned to face the rest of the class. “Now for homework I want you guys in here practicing these spells on the weekend, I will leave a sign-up sheet outside the door. That’s the key to acing these practical exams.” Lupin said half-heartedly. Eliza frowned and began to pack her stuff up, exiting the classroom with Sarah. Not daring to look back at Remus, she was terrified of confronting him at the present time. Later, she told herself, Eliza promised silently to visit his office later and apologize. For blowing up and her crass words. Her facts were right and pride stopped her from wanting to apologize for those, even if Remus didn’t agree.

Again, that night she worked on homework and studying with Tom in the Ravenclaw common room. He could tell something was up, but Tom just couldn’t figure it out. Giving up on both his Potions essay and dissecting Eliza’s emotions, Tom clambered up to the boy’s dormitory. Eliza concluded her Transfiguration essay and silently exited the common room.

It was a quiet night, Eliza didn’t see Filch once as she made her way across the castle. As she walked Eliza tried to formulate a script of what she would say to Remus when she arrived to his office. She debated profusely apologizing upon entering his circular study, that wouldn't be right. Remus seemed to have a good understanding of the inner workings of her personality at this point, she wasn't one to beg for forgiveness. Eliza would have to disclose the reasoning behind her explosion, even though having a bad temper didn't exactly qualify as a good excuse. But, she was aware that Remus would be expecting her to explain her actions along with the apology. Eliza fretted over if he would even forgive her, she'd never expected to blow up like that. Forcing her brain to be quiet, Eliza bounded up the stairs that lead to his office. When she arrived to Remus’s office door, she was surprised to see it was slightly cracked, a silent welcome to her. Upon entering Eliza saw the Marauders Map sitting out across his desk.

“I saw you coming.” Remus said quietly, voice still hoarse, as he pointed at the map. That would explain the cracked door. She didn’t expect him to come up and greet her, to her confirmation, he stayed rooted in his desk chair.

Eliza walked awkwardly over to the desk and sat down in the chair across from Remus. With a quick assessment of his features, she could tell he was still hurt.

“Remus, I’m so sorry for what I said yesterday. I should’ve handled that better, I didn’t mean to yell or insult you. Sometimes, my temper gets the best of me.” She confessed softly. Making true of her word, she didn’t apologize for what she had accused Snape of. Remus’s green eyes softened ever so slightly.

“It’s alright love, I honestly didn’t realize you had such a temper.” Lupin added with a small chuckle. “But I digress, Eliza, the reason I don’t want to take this to Dumbledore is because he’s shown me so much kindness already. I don’t want to push another favor when he has done so much for me.” Remus said, his voice carrying a quiet serenity that brought peace to Eliza’s tumbling mind.

“Hiring you based on your worth and not against your lycanthropy shouldn’t be considered a favor, Remus.” Mumbled Eliza, bitterness seeping into her voice. Remus smiled at her, in utter amazement of how she defended him. He couldn’t help but get up and gently pull her out of her seat, embracing her.

“I know, but that’s the way the world works. I don’t foresee it changing anytime soon, Eliza. I’m used to it, it’s alright.” Lupin said, his voice slightly muffled by her hair. She pulled him tightly against her body, basking in his warmth. Eliza wished she had the power to change those laws, it made her incredibly angry to see such prejudice.

“The world sucks.” She whispered. Remus pulled away briefly so he could cup her face in his hands. He stared into her hazel eyes, watching the green colored orbs shift into a shade of golden brown.

“There are some issues, yes.” Remus told her, brushing a strand of Eliza’s hair behind her ear. Leaning in he pressed a soft kiss against her lips.  “But if the world were full of people like you. It would certainly be a better place.” Eliza shook her head, a grin spreading across her face.

“No. Remus, the world needs more people like you. Who have had terrible things happen to them, but continue to be a good person, an amazing person who is kind and compassionate. You are ever entrancing me with your mind and handsomeness. But, Remus, your heart won my love.” Eliza stated, she hastily kissed him. His face was heated beneath her hands and he smiled into her kiss. Pulling away he gently traced her cheek, wrapping his other arm around her waist.

“How did I get so lucky?” Lupin sighed and kissed her forehead. The warmth from his kiss spread through Eliza’s entire body, causing her to shudder in delight.

“I could say the same thing.” She murmured against his lips. Eliza tangled her hands in his soft hair and slipped her tongue into his mouth.

Remus sighed and bit her lower lip as their tongues began to battle for dominance. She felt a warm buzz fall over her entire body and Eliza tugged on Remus’s hair, causing him to release a low growl. His hands greedily began to grip her waist and pull her against him, their mouths moving together desirously. Eliza began to unbutton Remus’s sweater, hungry to touch his body, she happily discarded the clothing. In between their passionate kissing she began to palm the growing bulge in his trousers, Lupin moaned into her parted mouth at the sensation. Winking at him, Eliza broke away from the kiss and began to slowly pepper kisses down Lupin’s chest, occasionally nipping at the skin. She hurriedly unbuckled his trousers and pulled them down along with his underwear. Eliza smirked and licked her lips as she stared at his generous length, getting down on her knees, she licked the pre-cum spilling out of the tip as she thrust his cock into her mouth. Remus’s moans grew louder as he began to thrust inside of her mouth, pausing slightly as Eliza gagged, and resuming once she readjusted. She devoured him ferociously, not even bothering to tease him because the noises that were tumbling out of his pink lips were enough to feed the growing warmth beneath her legs. Soon enough, the combination of sucking and licking his sensitive tip resulted in Remus releasing one loud sigh as he came into her mouth, the salty liquid dripping down her chin.

Licking the last of his cum from her face, Eliza got up and began to kiss Lupin again, drawing out the soft feeling of his lips pressed against her own. They soon broke away from each other, breathless and panting, Remus put on his discarded clothes as Eliza watched, her body still humming. But, their nightly visit was drawing to a close, Eliza could see the sunrise peak through the small window, casting a small beam of light across Remus. She smiled as the sunlight made his jewel eyes sparkle, and brought out tints of red in his brown hair.

“Come by tomorrow night after dinner. We’ll actually get some work done then.” Remus told her with a sincere smile, he was still pink from their intense make out, hair very much disheveled.

“Great, I can’t wait. Maybe you can help me map out my study guide for the Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWT exam?” She asked, biting her lip as she attempted to conceal her growing smile. Remus caressed her cheek and nodded, a similar cheeky grin played on his lips.

“I can certainly try to help.” He said as Remus leaned in to kiss her one last time. Eliza longed for the kiss to last forever, it was sweet and oh so intoxicating. It lacked the intense craving their previous kissing had contained, but instead, held the copious amounts of affection she had been missing.

They wearily sighed when it was time to break off the kiss and Eliza set off across the castle. She walked a bit slower this time, enjoying the way the golden rays of sunshine reflected off of the snow. The trees that could be seen from the corridor window were alive and sparkling in delight, Eliza admired the light pink and peach hues the sky seemed to contain. She briefly fantasized about being able to watch the sunrise with Remus, one morning they would surely be able to. She’d be able to sleep over eventually, they’d spend the night doing anything and everything that pleasured them, but then they would stay up just to watch the sun rise above the clouds. Eliza longed for this morning to come as she entered the Ravenclaw common room. She mused about how good it felt to be in Remus’s arms as she settled into her chilled sheets. Eliza was thankful that the fights and complications seemed to be a thing of the past, they were moving past them at a steady pace. She drifted off to sleep as her mind stayed intently focused on her dear lover, who was fast asleep by this point, his dreams joyous and filled with her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Remus and Eliza's relationship seems to get back on track, he finally makes due of a promise he made her a little over a month ago. Eliza's relentless curiosity on his past and the nature of Snape's grudge against Lupin intensifies.

With the end of January came increasingly chilly weather and another sighting of Sirius Black. He was rumored to have been seen in Hogsmeade around the first of February. Consequently, this meant that the student’s trip to the village the following weekend would have to be cancelled. Upon hearing the news at the bustling Ravenclaw breakfast table, Eliza risked a glimpse up at Remus, who undoubtedly caught word of the commotion occurring in the Great Hall. They had seen each other infrequently, attempting to cool down both Tom and Sarah’s suspicions and Snape’s ever wandering eye. Her heart sank into her stomach at the torn look on his face, though Remus hid his emotions well from the students and faculty, Eliza could read him like a book, she could clearly see the pain behind the seemingly indifferent front. Catching her eye, he gave her a reassuring smile and left the head table, exiting the Great Hall altogether. It took the entirety of her restraint to stay seated at the breakfast table, Eliza longed to run after him and hold him close.

Instead, she turned to face Tom who was already dressed in his Quidditch uniform for the match occurring that afternoon. She gave him a teasing smile and asked, “Are you ready for this afternoon?” Tom rolled his eye and took a big gulp of pumpkin juice.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, those damn Gryffindors are good Quidditch players Lizzie.” Tom admitted with a laugh, she knew he was indifferent towards winning or losing, he just liked to blow off steam on the Quidditch pitch.

“Well, good luck nonetheless. I’m sure you’ll play fantastic!” Eliza said with a beaming grin. After giving him a crisp high five, Tom walked away with the other Ravenclaw Quidditch players to the locker room.

Later that day, Eliza and Sarah walked across the snow-covered grounds to watch the match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. They were both donning Ravenclaw colors, Sarah had borrowed Tom’s house scarf and was wearing blue gloves she had knitted over holiday break. Sarah continued to cast observant glances towards Eliza, though she had gotten relatively back to normal, Sarah knew there was something her best friend wasn’t telling her.

“You sure you’re completely over Lupin?” Sarah whispered, moving closer to Eliza so they could talk privately as they joined the Ravenclaws in the stands. Eliza looked down at the alabaster Quidditch pitch before them and shrugged.

“I have to be Sarah. There’s nothing I can do, he would get fired if I tried anything, and I don’t want Hogwarts to lose the best Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor its ever had.” Eliza said softly into Sarah’s ear, this was relatively true, and the reason she couldn’t tell her very best friend about her secret relationship. Sarah patted her arm comfortingly, somehow convinced by Eliza’s lie.

Thankfully the Quidditch match was about to start, Eliza and Sarah paused their conversation for now. Eliza watched in utter amazement at the maroon and blue streaks that flecked the skyline, contrasting greatly to the snow on the ground. She occasionally could pick out Tom, he always had a grin on his face, even when Fred Weasley narrowly missed his face with a bludger. Ravenclaw was barely ahead, and Eliza nervously bit her lip as Cho and Harry chased after the Golden Snitch. She knew deep down that Harry was a natural Quidditch player, and with everything that had happened to him this year with the dementors, that he was far more determined to catch the snitch than Cho. Eliza gasped in disappointment when she saw Harry had caught the snitch after a very close match, but she caught Remus’s eye across the pitch and caught the taunting wink he aimed at her. She blushed a rosy pink and felt a familiar warmth spread in the pit of her belly.

Sarah and Eliza raced down and waited outside of the Ravenclaw locker room for Tom. He had played absolutely brilliant and the two girls couldn’t help but gush about several good moments their best friend had. Finally, Tom emerged in his usual school robes looking disheveled and happy despite the loss.

“Good match, Tom, you were brilliant!” Sarah exclaimed and engulfed Tom in one of her infamous bear hugs. Eliza laughed as the short Hufflepuff nearly toppled over the stocky Ravenclaw. Finally, releasing him with a giggle, Eliza gave Tom a crisp high-five and congratulated him on a well-played match.

“Too bad we lost, but damn I had a blast. Did you see when I almost got that bludger to the face?! Those Weasley twins are good Quidditch players, I tell you.” Tom gushed as they made their way up to the Great Hall for dinner.

The Quidditch match was the ultimate subject of conversation throughout the entirety of dinner, taking place at all four house tables. Eliza suppressed a giggle when she heard McGonagall and Lupin excitedly conversing Harry’s amazing snitch catch at the head table. She loved to see Remus’s quiet demeanor fade away into this snarky, mischievous, troublemaker. Thoughtfully, Eliza mused over the stark contrast between Lupin’s classroom behavior and the side she got to see in private. Even then, he would be incredibly romantic and sweet one moment, just to rebound with fox like comments and teasing kisses. Eliza felt like it would take an entire lifetime to see the entirety of Lupin’s personality, and she chastised herself for desiring for it. She hadn’t thought much about their future and was too afraid to bring anything up to Remus, Eliza was entirely clueless on what he would say. It was crystal clear how in love they were with each other, once she graduated from Hogwarts they would be able to make their relationship public. Then what? She had no clue what he wanted his future to be, much less, if he had any desire to spend it with her. Eliza’s stomach dropped into her gut, she didn’t want to be with anyone else, spending the rest of her days with any other man would be devastating.

Later that night, those thoughts still roamed Eliza’s head as she laid in bed, meticulously checking her brown leather watch and waiting. She needed to wait until the castle was completely quiet to make her journey over to Lupin’s office. He had hinted the day previous during their planning session, an actual thorough and legit session, where he went over things she should prepare for the Auror training she’d have to endure. But he had mentioned to pack a bag with her uniform with a wink, which meant, she was finally going to spend the night. Her body hummed and soared with excitement as she removed the books, parchment, ink, and quills from her book bag and stuffed clean undergarments and her uniform inside. Securing the buckle on, Eliza slipped her shoes on and quietly made her way down the spiral staircase down to the common room, sliding out of the door.

The chilly air of the corridor made Eliza shiver as she walked through the empty castle, almost ominous because of the lack of moonlight. She had to restrain herself from sprinting up to Lupin’s office, eager to spend the remainder of the night with him. Eliza’s patience paid off as she finally approached the familiar wood door that lead to Lupin’s office, it was already open a crack, firelight peaked out from the doorway. She gently opened the door and shut it quietly behind her, thrilled to see Remus waiting for her with a mischievous grin plastered across his seemingly youthful face.

“Good evening Eliza, how are you?” He asked casually, the smirk growing as he noticed her clear impatience. Eliza rolled her eyes and kissed him quick.

“I’m great, how about you?” She responded in a teasing tone as Remus dug his wand out from under his robes.

“Good, still basking in the glory of a Gryffindor win.” Remus casually bragged with a taunting smile. Eliza shook her head and suppressed the smile that fought against her lips.

“Oh, sod off.” Eliza murmured as Remus reached down for her hand, intertwining their fingers together. Laughing, Remus pressed a sweet kiss against her lips as he led her to the fireplace.

She raised her eyebrows in question but observed as Remus waved his wand in a complex, zig-zag pattern across the fireplace. With a slight creak the fireplace began to part away to reveal a modest looking oak door with a shiny black handle. Winking at her, Remus opened the door and to Eliza’s intense amazement, lead her into a circular bedroom.

Lupin’s bedroom didn’t resemble his shabby clothing in the slightest, though moderate in size, the room was comfortable and cozy. Eliza glanced around appreciatively, taking in the elegant swirls of the wood paneling on the walls. Her eyes finally laid on the bed, which was clearly big enough to fit two people, not nearly as small as the dormitory beds. It was somewhere between a queen and a king and looked so very inviting, donning a fluffy, white comforter with soft, marshmallow-like pillows. She picked out Lupin’s shabby trunk that laid in front of the canopy masterpiece, and the maroon and gold quilt that resided on the foot of the bed, it looked worn out and had several patches strewn across it. At the bottom of the quilt she made out the ink black stitching that read:

 

_Happy Christmas Remus!_

_Much Love,_

_James and Lily Potter_

 

Her heart ached terribly for Remus upon reading the elegant stitching, Eliza risked a glance up at him, and to her amazement, found that the room was now covered with candles. Blushing deeply, she caught Lupin in the final acts of waving his wand, finishing lighting the last of the candles. He turned to face her, looking sheepish and nervous in the yellow tinted room. The only light being provided by the inviting fireplace and the seemingly romantic tea candles that were now strewn about the circular bedroom.

“Happy belated Birthday, I know we never got the chance to properly celebrate it when term started up again. I’m aware it has been over a month since your real birthday but, this was the best I could do for now, I can always do something else another time if you’d like that more. Maybe that’s best….” Eliza sweetly cut off Remus’s rambling with a gentle kiss, she threw her arms enthusiastically around his neck and pulled him closer. Instinctively, Lupin’s arms tangled around her waist as he continued to press his warm lips against her own. Eliza could pull out the slight taste of chocolate that remained on his tongue and relished in the sweetness. She pulled away and gazed up into his green eyes.

“I love it Remus. Thank you, this is more than enough.” She said earnestly, her tone soft and lilting like a beautiful melody in Lupin’s ears.

The sweet expression on Lupin’s face shifted into one of utter mischief, he pulled Eliza back to him sharply, causing a small gasp to escape her mouth as it moved against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and chuckled when he lifted her up completely, moving both of them to his fluffy bed. Laying her down, Remus began to pepper kisses away from her mouth and down her neck and to her collarbone. As he gently began to suck and bite at the skin, he pushed up her nightdress as Lupin’s soft, tantalizing fingers began to slowly brush their way up Eliza’s inner thigh. She closed her eyes and released a low moan when he hastily removed her panties and slid two fingers inside of her. Her hips instantly bucked up as Remus began to pick up the pace of his movement. He had moved his lips back up to her mouth and started to bite at Eliza’s lower lip, causing another sigh to slip out of her mouth. Eliza whined as Remus removed his fingers entirely from her wet heat, licking them quickly, he took off Eliza’s nightdress and threw it over his shoulder.  Remus began to desperately press hot kisses down Eliza’s neck, trailing past her stomach and finally he slipped his tongue inside of her, releasing a low growl at how wet she was for him. Eliza’s stream of whines and moans grew louder and heavier as Remus continued to eat her out, knowing the right places to flick his tongue to elicit a sigh from her. He continued his work, pinning down her hips as to tease her, Eliza desirously tried to fight against him, but once again Remus surprised her with his impeccable strength. Not being able to resist much longer, Remus removed his trousers and underwear completely and slipped inside of Eliza. She smiled at the sudden friction between her legs and started to grind onto his hardened length. Neither of them wasted any time with teasing, they fell into a pattern of hard thrusting and breathless kissing until they came together. Panting, Remus removed himself from Eliza and hurriedly cleaned himself up as she did the same, throwing her nightdress and panties back on she climbed under the soft covers into Lupin’s arms.

“That was some birthday gift.” She sighed happily as he kissed her forehead and chuckled. Eliza let the wave of ecstasy wash over her briefly before her mind got back to whirring with questions. She couldn't help but ponder over the cause of Snape's resentment towards Remus, Eliza knew Snape was a crabby man, but she had a hard time believing the source of that much hatred came from Lupin simply having the teaching post Snape wanted. The terrified voice in the back of her mind squealed fearfully, begging her to not push Remus for answers he clearly didn't want to give, did she really want another fight with him, especially when things were finally getting back to normal? Eliza ignored the scared voice, promising herself that she had much better control over her anger, and that Remus had promised her some answers. 

“Remus, can I ask you a question?” Eliza asked softly, her courage was failing her at the present time, the small terrified voice seemed to have much more control than she'd initially thought. Lupin’s warm, forest green eyes looked at her in confusion as he brushed her cheek with his warm hand and nodded. His fingers continued to trace soft patterns on her light nightdress, the action itself soothed her worries. This wouldn't be like last time, they were both so calm. 

“Why does Snape hate you so much, and Harry? He’s terrible to that poor boy and it’s not fair.” She questioned, her voice rigid and tight with disapproval. Remus seemed to age slightly as he pondered his answer, pulling her closer against him. She had grown fond of Harry Potter after observing him in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, he was talented and altogether a kind boy, even if he was a proclaimed troublemaker. Lupin sighed quietly, he had promised Eliza answers but hadn't guessed she would want them so soon. He berated himself for underestimating her relentless curiosity, Remus had known the girl for months now, and should be well aware that when she is on the hunt for knowledge, she doesn't back off until she gets her answer. Despite his longing for a quiet night in with the woman he loved, it was because of this thirst for knowledge that he was so fond of her, she wasn't demanding for the information either, she still remained kind even when he knew the curiosity was eating her alive. 

“Did you know that Severus and I were at Hogwarts at the same time?” Lupin asked, caution evident in his voice. Eliza raised her eyebrows in surprise and tried with all her might to imagine a younger Snape, but her imagination couldn’t fathom it. She desperately tried to imagine Snape younger, maybe happier, less cruel. Was there a time when those black eyes of his didn't glint with malice? Eliza shook her head, Remus was much easier to picture as a teenager, he still had a bit of mischief in him. She knew him well enough by now to know that he was never what her first impression had gathered. Her intuition had been very wrong about her love, and was thrilled, because God did she adore the snarky man that laid next to her. Lupin chuckled at her shocked expression and sighed heavily.

“We were, he was in Slytherin and I was in Gryffindor. Within the first month of my first year I befriended three brilliant but chaotic boys, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter, Harry’s father. James was a good man, Eliza, but when he was eleven he had the tendency to be a bully. At least to Snape, in all fairness, Snape was caught up in a group of purebloods who made it their mission to torment Muggleborns. Peter and I fit that bill, James was furious when he discovered we were being treated unfairly by them and retaliated. This begun years of taunting between Snape, his friends, and us, Sirius and James leading the battle. During all of this, Snape was also friends with a young witch named Lily Evans, Harry’s mother. He was hopelessly in love with her, feelings that were reciprocated in James. Once James grew up a bit more, lost some of his ego, Lily and him began to date which only intensified Snape’s hatred for him.” Lupin paused, his face still strong with nostalgia. “I suppose Snape still holds a grudge against me for what James and Sirius did to him while we were in school. He dislikes Harry I believe because he blames him for Lily’s death.” He concluded, voice thick with emotion, his green eyes began to lose the nostalgic cloud.  Eliza’s brain quickly processed the information and the budding rage in her began to blossom, she couldn’t believe Snape held such a thick grudge against Remus after all these years. After Snape also participated in bullying, the same bullying Eliza received occasionally from purebloods.

“His grudge against you is unwarranted. Snape also bullied you, it’s highly hypocritical of him to hate you, when I’m guessing he said worse things to you.” Eliza murmured, her eyebrows furrowing in concentration. Lupin smiled sweetly at her and kissed her cheek. His avid concern at disclosing the piece of information faded quickly, he had forgotten Eliza's consistent loyalty, his lips pressed into a hard line. What would he do if he ever saw a pureblood taunting her? Surely not as much as he wished, he wouldn't be able to berate the student, only reprimand, give them detention. But, he'd seen Eliza's fiery temper, her wit alone would tear apart any bully that dare cross her path. 

“It’s also vital to point out that Snape is a half-blood. He rejects the Muggle side vehemently, pretending to be a pureblood so he doesn’t feel dirty.” Lupin added as he pressed his warm cheek against the top of Eliza’s head. That made her sad, Eliza couldn’t believe why someone would reject something like that. She couldn’t imagine rejecting her mother in that fashion, it would break her heart.

“That’s terrible. So, he found out your secret while you were still in school?” Eliza piped up again, recovering from the serious tenner their conversation held.

“You are inquisitive tonight.” Remus said with a small laugh as he nuzzled her neck. “When I imagined you staying over, this wasn’t the topic of conversation I pictured.” Eliza rolled her eyes and kissed him deeply, relishing in how warm he was.

“Well, you said you would tell me more when you had time. We have the whole night, which is an adequate amount of time for you to explain things to me. After all, love, I’m a Ravenclaw, I can’t help but be curious.” Eliza said simply her mouth spreading across into a crooked smile.

“I suppose that’s fair. To answer your previous question, yes. Snape was particularly nosy of us four, especially when we would disappear for a weekend when I would transform. We would go through a secret passage in the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. There, I would go through my monthly transformations, and the other three would transform into their Animagus forms to keep me company. Snape found out because Sirius pulled a very dangerous prank, he was going to lure Snape down to the Shrieking Shack when I had transformed. Which as you know, is incredibly dangerous, it took me the remainder of the school year to forgive Sirius for endangering Severus like that. But before James saved Severus’s life, he caught a glimpse of me in my werewolf form…” He trailed off wistfully, eyes flashing in pain at the idea of the prank. Eliza remained breathless, pressed up against his side.

“So, why now? Why try to expose you now, years after that prank? It’s not like it was your idea.” She pressed, Remus cocked an eyebrow at her and silenced the stream of questions poised at the tip of her tongue with a single look. A signal that she was beginning to ask too much.

“I think, you well know, he wants the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. He was willing to keep my secret because he loved seeing James so desperate. But now, he thinks if he gets me fired, Dumbledore will give the job to him.” Lupin stated, his voice soft, eyes alert and cautious. He then looked at Eliza sternly. “But, I want you to drop it Eliza. We don’t need trouble from Snape, there’s much more he can expose than just that one secret.” His eyes warned her, and she nodded, remembering how much trouble they both would get in if anyone found out about their relationship.

She looked away from the serious look on his face, regretting bringing such a complex topic up when they were supposed to be spending a romantic night in together. Remus issued that warm smile, the kind that made butterflies flop around in her stomach and a rosy blush appear on her cheeks.

“How did it feel to lose to Gryffindor today?” He asked slyly, teasing ever so present in his voice. Eliza rolled her eyes and hit him with a pillow, giggling as he reciprocated the action. The impromptu pillow fight continued until she was laughing, pressed against the bed, trapped by him.

“Oh, stop it. You guys have a natural born Seeker. It’s not like you would beat me at Quidditch, I’m sure you’re just as bad as I am!” Eliza exclaimed in a dramatic huff, Remus laughed darkly and kissed her lips, his hands continuing to pin her arms above her head.

“I’m not positively dreadful on a broom, Eliza.” Remus tutted as he continued to press little kisses onto her lips. Her body seemed to sink against him as Lupin began to passionately kiss her, his warm mouth moving ever so naturally against her own. Eliza looked past him at the small, oval window and saw dusk begin to break out against the clouds.

“Remus, we stayed up all night.” She muttered with a loud yawn, his tired green eyes briefly left her face to gaze out the window.

“Hmm. It appears we did. I have a charm on the door so no one can enter without my permission, we’re free to sleep in late tomorrow morning.” He mumbled as he snuggled her under the fluffy like blankets, Eliza felt like she was floating on a very warm cloud and sighed happily.

“That’s good. Goodnight Remus, I love you.” She said against his sturdy chest, inhaling the sweet smell of cinnamon that remained on his nightshirt.

Remus pressed a feather light kiss against her forehead and Eliza heard him mumble something about being “hopelessly in love” as she drifted off into unconsciousness. Her body felt like it was floating, the sensation of Remus against her became intensified as she fell into a deep slumber. 

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza discovers additional information about Remus's past when she wakes up. She and Remus are stunned when they unearth information about an old friend who is supposed to be dead.

The gentle movement of the bed awoke the groggy Eliza, throwing her arm over her bleary eyes she squinted into the stream of sunlight that poured through Remus’s open window. Eliza forced herself to sit up in bed, looking around the room she saw Remus was nowhere to be found. She got up, shuddering as her bare feet touched the freezing wood floor. Inquisitively, Eliza took in the empty space, trying to find any trace of Remus. Finally, Eliza’s sharp eye found a folded piece of parchment on top of his tattered trunk. Opening the note, she saw it was Remus and read:

 

_Eliza,_

_Sorry I left early this morning, one of us had to attend breakfast otherwise people may get suspicious. I’ll be back soon, just make yourself at home._

_Love,_

_Remus_

 

Nodding, Eliza applauded his thoughtfulness, her friends would surely notice if both of them were missing from the Great Hall that morning. Eliza attempted to discard the piece of paper behind the trunk but missed, instead, the parchment fell into the slightly opened trunk. Frustrated with her poor hand-eye coordination skills, she stuck her hand inside the small opening, trying to grab at the tiny note but instead, pulled out what looked to be the Marauder’s Map.

Observing the empty, yellowed parchment Eliza debated putting it back, but she longed to see the webbed map of Hogwarts. After all, Remus would be gone at breakfast for a while, and he had never explicitly said she _couldn't_ peek at the map. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Eliza debated her options and settled on looking at the map. She wasn't sure how to spend the remainder of her alone time in the bare bedroom otherwise. Grabbing her wand from her book bag, Eliza tapped the parchment and whispered: “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Eliza once again gasped in utter amazement as she watched the map come to life, weaving out Hogwarts and its occupants in beautifully elegant black ink. She traced the looping spirals that cascaded from the center of the map, which now read, _"Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Are proud to present The Marauder's Map."_   Giggling to herself, Eliza could at the very least identify which one of the codenames belonged to Remus. Sighing to herself, Eliza longed to hear about the conversation that had lead to the assignment of those nicknames. Surveying the map, Eliza could pick out Remus in the Great Hall along with Tom and Sarah. Excitement ran through her veins like a jolt of caffeine as she began to unfold the map, eager to see the different rooms and corridors she had never traveled to. As Eliza began to flip open the folded corners of the map, something caught her eye, she then hurriedly flipped back and locked onto the Gryffindor boys dormitory. Blinking incredulously, Eliza hesitantly touched the moving name that lingered in the bedroom, the only occupant of the dormitory: “Peter Pettigrew.”

“That’s not possible,” she mumbled to herself, doubt entering every corner of her mind. She distinctly remembered Remus stating that Peter had been murdered by Sirius, he never disclosed the how or why, but Black being a Death Eater had answered both questions initially. Now she wondered if the plausible facts were even true. Was it be possible that Sirius had been wrongly accused of betraying James and Lily? Had he been framed? Eliza shook her head as a grim frown spread across her face, the likely answer was that there was a kink in the map. She knew Remus was impeccably intelligent, but for the love of the Lord, he had created the map with three other fourteen-year olds. There was a higher chance that the map had a flaw than a deranged murderer being wrongly accused. Irritated at herself for even looking at the map, Eliza tapped the old parchment once again with her wand and stated, “Mischief Managed.”

Eliza heard the fireplace begin to creak, signalling Remus's entrance, and leaped back into bed. She decided to fake sleep to avoid any questions from Remus, at least for the present time. Eliza could just hear him asking why she had been looking at the map? How could she even be awake with the extreme lack of sleep she'd had last night? Focusing intently on the sound coming from the fireplace, she heard him quietly enter the room, the floorboards creaked slightly as he picked up the Marauder’s Map and threw it back in the general direction of his trunk. Finding this to be a good time to get up, she began to stir ever so slightly as Eliza felt him jostle the bed with his added weight, grinning up at him she quickly kissed him, deciding to pretend she hadn’t seen his note.

“Why are you dressed?” She mumbled, voice hoarse with sleep. Remus couldn’t help but laugh at her disheveled state as he kissed her forehead softly.

“You must have missed my note, sleepyhead. I went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, had to be inconspicuous. I was trying to avoid raising suspicion as to why neither of us were present for breakfast. You’ll probably have to make up an excuse when you see Tom and Sarah, they were looking for you.” Grinning wickedly Remus rolled Eliza over so she was trapped underneath him. He leaned in and pressed little love bites leading from her neck up to the shell of her ear. “I think you should tell them you got abducted by a werewolf.” Remus laughed jovially as he gently nibbled her earlobe, Eliza sighed and pushed what she had seen on the map from her head entirely. Snaking her arms out from underneath him, she wrapped them around his neck and kissed him deeply. She didn't think she'd ever tire of the sensation of his lips against hers. 

“Mhhm. That’ll go over well.” She let the sarcasm drip into her voice as she attempted to roll over, once again blocked by Remus’s sneaky kisses. “Ugh. It’s so early Remus, you know you kept me up very late last night.” Eliza continued to tease as Remus rolled his eyes and bit her lip, tugging ever so slightly. He relished in delight at the small moan she released, pulling him down for another long kiss. 

“My memory may be failing me, but wasn’t it you who decided to play twenty questions?” Lupin snarked as he rolled off of her, deciding to pull her tightly to his side. Eliza cocked an eyebrow at him and stuck her tongue out at Remus, her wit failing her due to the early rise.

“Oh, hush up you.” Her teasing was conveniently interrupted by a very large yawn, too tired to continue to poke fun at Remus, she nuzzled her head into his warm chest. He lovingly rubbed her side as he pecked the sleepy Ravenclaw on the lips.

“Any more questions?” Lupin jested in the slightest, his green eyes roaming her face. Eliza pondered this for a moment and ruffled her tangled raven hair.

“Just one, but I don’t know if you’re comfortable talking about it.” She admitted while biting her lip anxiously. Eliza wanted to know the events that led up to Sirius Black betraying the Potters. But there really wasn’t a good way to ask your boyfriend how his best friend betrayed them all, resulting in his three other friends getting killed. Remus cocked an eyebrow and tried to decipher what else she could possibly be curious about. She wanted to hear the story from him, and try to figure out how on Earth she’d managed to see Peter on the Marauder’s Map.

“Just ask me Eliza, anything you’re scared of asking me will eventually come to light anyways.” Remus reassured her with his golden smile. Eliza couldn’t help but feel anxious, so she took a deep breath and focused on how the sun danced across the fluffy white comforter.

“Did you ever suspect Sirius was a Death Eater?” She began, her voice barely wilting above a whisper. Remus sighed quietly, Eliza couldn’t help but feel guilty for the weary expression he was now donning. Lupin swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat, it had been thirteen years, he needed to become comfortable talking about this.

“You want to know about his betrayal? No, I never would’ve suspected, the fact of the matter is, leading up to the night James and Lily were murdered I didn’t notice a change in Sirius’s mood. Which I always found odd, you’d think he would be considerably jittery if he had been communicating information to Voldemort. But, he was still the same goofy, Sirius, less of a jokester, but the war affected everyone that way. The person that seemed quieter and reclusive was Peter, he came around less and less. When he was over he wouldn’t talk much and would constantly be looking over his shoulder. I suppose he was paranoid, but who wasn’t?” Remus shuddered as if he had been showering in icy water.

“I didn’t witness his actual betrayal, I only heard word from Dumbledore after he had killed Peter, have you heard that story?” He asked, his voice hoarse and quiet. Eliza shook her head, wanting to smack herself for being unable to deny her curiosity. “Well, from what I was told, Peter confronted Sirius just outside of James and Lily’s house… after they were murdered. Um, Peter had never been one for confrontation but he was clearly shaken up over the deaths of our closest friends. But apparently Sirius was laughing, maniacally, it was hard to understand anything he was saying. So, they dueled and Sirius blew up half the street, killing about a dozen Muggles. The only remaining part of Peter was his finger.” Remus concluded and Eliza’s body betrayed her by going rigid. It must be the map, it had to be wrong, Peter Pettigrew was clearly dead. She swallowed in an attempt to moisten her now dry throat, Lupin looked down at her in concern, but she waved her hand to signal she was fine.

“I’m sorry, Remus… and I apologize further because I have one more question.” She paused to make sure he would be okay with this. Lupin stared down into his lap for a moment and then slowly nodded. “So, I know you’re a brilliant genius or whatever. But, since you made the Marauder’s Map when you were fourteen, there has to be some flaw in it right? Not to disregard your hard work, but the map can’t be accurate all of the time?” Eliza asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly. Remus didn’t take notice of the sudden shaky tone and smiled down at her, thankful that she had moved on from the less-than appealing subject of his dead friends.

“No, it’s accurate. Eliza, it took four years for us to make, we made damn sure that the map was one hundred percent correct all the time.” Remus’s voice shifted considerably as he eyed Eliza suspiciously, her heart was hammering in her chest as her face paled. In a daze, Eliza moved away from Lupin and got out of bed, trying to fight the shaking of her hands. Remus got up immediately and tried to comfort her, confusion evident on his handsome face.

“Holy shit.” She breathed out, voice barely audible. Remus stared at her, trying and failing to read the puzzle of emotions that flashed across her hazel eyes.

“Eliza, what’s wrong?” He pressed, supporting her with his strong arms. Eliza kept glancing over at the Marauder’s Map, it laid so close to Lupin’s trunk, how could something so seemingly innocent be the direct cause of her immediate stress?

“I saw something on the map. When you left for breakfast I woke up to see you weren’t here, after reading your note I tried to throw it away but instead it fell into your trunk. After I attempted to pull out the note I grabbed at the Marauder’s Map instead. I’m sorry Remus, I couldn’t resist looking at it again. When I glanced over the different corridors and rooms I’d never ventured to before I saw something, no. I saw someone. Someone who is supposed to be dead.” Eliza mumbled, her voice steadying as it caught up to her racing mind. Her eyes desperately searched Remus’s face for something, he couldn't be in the dark entirely. But she’d heard what he said earlier, Lupin sincerely believed that Sirius betrayed the Potters and killed Peter Pettigrew. But if his claims about the map’s accuracy were true then… no way, she thought while shaking her head. Well, Peter Pettigrew certainly didn’t die that night thirteen years ago if the map was never wrong.

“What the hell are you talking about?” His voice was gentle but flooded with concern, Remus once again tried to decipher the flashing expressions that crossed Eliza’s face, but he couldn’t keep up with the speed of her consciousness. Alarmed by his voice, Eliza urgently gripped onto Remus’s arms and pulled him closer.

“If what you say about the map being one hundred percent accurate all the time is true… Remus, I saw Peter Pettigrew in the Gryffindor boys dormitory.” Eliza stated clearly, her voice no longer hoarse. Lupin immediately paled and backed away from her, his hand subconsciously reaching up to his throat in surprise as the other arm steadied himself on the canopy bed. He shook his head as Remus’s brow furrowed intensely, his mind at work.

“That’s. Not. Possible.” He said slowly. Enunciating each word as he ran his hand through his hair, green eyes locking onto the battered parchment on the floor.

“I saw him Remus. I don’t know how, you said he was dead! Black killed him! But I’m not lying Remus, I’m not delusional. I stared at his moving name for minutes before saying, “Mischief Managed.” I don’t understand how…” Eliza trailed off as she stared intently up at Remus, who looked like he might vomit. The pallid tone on his face shifted to a light green as he gingerly crouched onto the floor and grabbed the map.

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Remus muttered as he tapped the map with his wand. Eliza remained standing, observing him as Lupin flipped through the endless creases and folds that resided on the map. She was beginning to think she had actually been hallucinating when Eliza heard a small gasp come from Remus.

Immediately crouching down beside him, Eliza peered over his shoulder and observed “Peter Pettigrew,” ironically written in Remus’s untidy scrawl, moving about the Gryffindor boys dormitory. Concerned, Eliza watched Remus’s shocked expression shift into one of utter concentration. He looked up at her and Eliza had never seen those green eyes so determined.

“Darling,” Remus began, voice surprisingly calm though it held some shakiness. “Please get dressed and head back to your dormitory. I-I, have some research to look into. This shouldn’t be possible but somehow, Peter Pettigrew is in Hogwarts, and I need to wrap my head around it. There are a lot of things I thought were true that I now question, and I quite honestly don't know how to make sense of all this but I’ll send word to you once I’ve figured out everything.” He concluded as he bit his lower lip in complete concentration. Eliza dutifully nodded and began to unpack her uniform from her book bag. She didn't want to press him further and felt the disgusting sensation of guilt spread throughout her entire body. 

Stunned, she dressed quickly and watched as Remus began to unload pieces of parchment, some ink, and his quill from the battered trunk. Spreading out the supplies in front of him, it looked as if he was beginning to write a timeline. Eliza couldn’t make out his messy writing, for he was moving at the speed of light, referencing back to the Marauder’s Map every so often. Speechless, Eliza leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before she shouldered her book bag, about to exit his bedroom.

“Eliza.” Remus suddenly called out, causing her to whip around too quickly. He was still sitting on the floor, but gazed up at her with an undistinguishable look lingering in those green eyes.

“Don’t ever think you can’t tell me something, even if you believe it to be absurd. I’d rather listen to you prattle on opposed to missing the full truth. I never suspect you to be lying my love, what you have to say is always important to me.” Remus stated sincerely, that beautifully warm smile gracing his kind face before it disappeared altogether. He was then preoccupied with his work, Eliza smiled in spite of his sudden shift of emotions.

As she headed back to the Ravenclaw common room, Eliza’s thoughts lingered on Peter Pettigrew’s name in the Gryffindor boys dormitory. Although, she wasn’t able to concentrate nor come up with any theories because of the impending exhaustion that seemed to swallow her whole. Her body’s instincts had since cooled down after she discovered the supposed to be dead man, and now all she could think about was how she had gotten relatively no sleep the night previous. Though Eliza didn’t regret a single question she’d asked Remus the night previous, she couldn’t help but wonder if he wished last night had never happened. The candles had made it pretty obvious that he was intending for them to have a nice, normal, romantic evening. It was so rare for them to enjoy the thrills and experiences a typical couple would have. She couldn’t even show any public display of affection, wasn’t able to confide her thoughts and troubles to her best friends on the topic of her relationship. Eliza wouldn’t change a singular thing about being with Remus, but she couldn’t help but long to hold her boyfriend’s hand in the corridor or be able to press a sweet, goodnight kiss to him outside of the Ravenclaw common room. Eliza shook her head as she answered the bronze eagle knocker’s riddle, she felt silly longing for the normal relationship she’d already experienced with Charlie. She had loved him at the time, but those emotions now felt silly and weak comparison to the passion and fire she held for Remus.

 

Yawning, Eliza climbed up the stairs to the girls dormitory, promising herself she’d take a short nap and the finish the remaining mountain of homework before classes resumed on Monday. Reflecting on last night Eliza realized she’d really only gotten three to four hours of sleep and groaned heavily. She daydreamed about the days following her graduation from Hogwarts, maybe Eliza would get a small flat with Remus. They’d be able to spend the entirety of their day together, not just the late-night hours, and sleep next to each other every night. Eliza realized as she climbed into her cold twin bed that though her bed could be deemed comfortable, it would never compare to the marshmallow like feel of Remus’s warm bed.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza gets to witness firsthand the physical toll Remus goes through after every full moon, and the two discuss what the future may hold for them.

The snow of January seemed to utterly disappear throughout the course of February, the entire month felt like one slushy mess. Much like Eliza’s life, Remus still hadn’t given her word on any theory he had to why Peter’s name appeared on the Marauder’s Map. Instead, every time she frequented his office, Remus was hellbent on helping Eliza study for her NEWTS or giving her extra information on topics relating to Defense Against the Dark Arts. A very minimal part of her weekly visits consisted of them discussing anything outside of coursework, his flirting with her was kept to a minimum, much to Eliza’s despair. While she was relieved that she hadn’t been hallucinating Peter’s name on the map, she was very frustrated with herself for causing Remus’s pallid state. Though, she hastily had to remind herself that the full moon would be occurring soon, and Lupin was insistent on her staying out of the matters entirely.

“But I don’t understand why I can’t even come help you heal after the fact?” Eliza angrily spat out, she threw down the practice exam she had been working on and fiercely stared at Remus until he looked up from his stack of papers.

“For the last time, Eliza, I don’t want you to be there. You don’t have to be burdened with my transformation on top of the mountain of homework and studying you should be preoccupying yourself with. I’ve handled it on my own for thirteen years,” Remus huffed out, his calm demeanor failing him. As the moon began to wax he had been becoming increasingly irritable, a side effect of the impending transformation. Eliza rolled her eyes and stood up from her chair, she wasn’t going to let him push her out of his life.

“Remus, if I were ill you would insist on helping me in any way possible. Bloody hell! It’s not like I’m asking to be here with you while you’re transforming, I just want to help with the aftercare, you know, make you tea, give you chocolate, make sure you’re comfortable.” Eliza said, Remus could tell by the defiant look in her eyes that he would end up losing this battle. A small part of him wanted her around after the taxing transformation, it would be nice to wake up and have someone be there. Sighing, never in his wildest dreams had he expected Eliza to be so fiery, Remus got up and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Fine. If you really want to help me, come by Sunday morning. By then I'll be beginning to recover. Lord knows why you want to spend the entirety of your Sunday with a recouping werewolf.” He stated, never realizing how easy giving in would be. Filled with complete adoration for the Ravenclaw, Remus tipped down his head and lightly kissed her lips. Eliza smiled into the kiss as she released him, and began to pack up her books.

“I should head back to the common room, Tom has been very suspicious of me lately.” She said with a slight grimace, Remus’s grip on her hand tightened as he spun her around, back into his arms. She felt lightheaded and was enthusiastic at the mischievous grin that crossed his face, Eliza enjoyed it considerably compared to the stern and worried demeanor he had held earlier. 

“Did you use my werewolf abduction excuse?” He added with a slight laugh though his green eyes were cautious.

“No, silly.” Eliza jested as a crooked smile spread across her face. “But I don’t think they really believed me. I said I stumbled upon the Room of Requirement because I was looking for a quiet space to study, and that I fell asleep. Tom looked doubtful and Sarah remembered how much I loved the library.” She finished with a big sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck, gently running her fingers through his now greying locks.

“So, we’ll just remove lying from your long list of attributes?” Lupin asked with mocking evident in his tone. Eliza ignored the taunt and kissed him deeply, wishing she could just spend the night with him.

“Everybody’s got to be bad at something.” Eliza said with a shrug as she released him. Pressing one more kiss against his lips Eliza and Lupin parted ways.

The rest of the week seemed to flash before Eliza’s eyes and she began to take notice of the moon's effect on Remus. By Friday’s class he was once again pallid, purple bags were evident under his still shining green eyes, and the sandy brown tint of his hair had faded to grey. He was noticeably weaker and slender compared to his surprisingly slight and sturdy build. But during mealtimes Eliza observed that he rarely finished all of his food, instead he seemed to poke and prod at whatever lay on his plate. It was no surprise to Eliza that she didn’t see him in the Great Hall for dinner that Friday night, nor be graced by his presence at all on Saturday.

That night she was sitting up in the library with Tom and Sarah as they studied for their upcoming NEWTS. There was clearly tension between the three, though Tom and Sarah had accepted Eliza’s blatant lie, they were wary of the seemingly dozens of secrets in their friend’s life. The two were slightly offended at being in the dark but Sarah had readily assured Tom that it must be of great importance if Eliza felt the need to exclude them. But still, Tom couldn’t help but be snippy towards Eliza, frequently making little comments about how infrequently she saw them. Eliza elected to disregard Tom’s comments though they stung like tiny little needles, she wished she could tell them everything but, it wasn’t simply her secret to tell. If she told her friends the secret of her relationship with Remus, she would be endangering his career and job prospects, and Eliza couldn’t live with herself if she got him in trouble. She mused that if it was simply her own personal toils she wouldn’t have an issue indulging her best friends, but it affected Remus far more than her, so she kept her mouth shut.

“So, do you think they’ll cancel the remaining Hogsmeade visits?” Sarah asked, trying to break the sullen silence with a distraction. She sharply eyed Tom, a warning sign, telling him to get over whatever issue he had with Eliza.

“I don’t know, it’s not safe for us to walk around with a murderer on the loose.” Tom said, a serious edge to his tone. Eliza missed the days of a carefree and teasing Tom.

“Yeah, I suppose. I just wanted to get in one last trip to The Three Broomsticks before we all graduated.” Sarah mentioned with a slight pout, trying to decipher if the visit would even be possible with the attitude Tom took up.

“That’d be nice,” Eliza mused quietly, looking up from her practice exam. Sarah beamed at her and glanced at Tom, thrilled to see a lopsided grin on his cheeky face.

“It’d be nice to get drunk with you all before we leave here forever. God, it’s crazy right? Feels like yesterday we were little first years.” Tom said, getting increasingly boisterous by the minute. Eliza and Sarah locked eyes briefly, happiness exuding from both features.

“I know, I look at those first years and think to myself, were we ever that small?” Eliza asked with a small laugh, Sarah and Tom joined her in her nostalgic moment.

“I honestly think we were, remember that first boat ride, I remember being terrified of Hagrid. Lo and behold for him to be one of the nicest faculty members.” Sarah added with a small giggle, the three friends looked at each other with the glaze of reminiscence in their eyes. They eventually broke away from the moment and packed up their things, clearly finished with studying for the night. Tom and Eliza bid Sarah goodbye outside of the Hufflepuff common room and the two walked in happy silence up to Ravenclaw tower. On the way Eliza could swear she saw a massive black dog bounding towards the Whomping Willow, but assumed it was her eyes playing tricks on her, after all she had studied for most of the evening.

Once arriving to the common room, Tom hesitated before going up the spiral staircase that lead to the boy’s dormitory.

“Eliza, I’m sorry for all the snide comments I’ve made lately. Whatever you’re keeping from us, must be important and I should be more sensitive to it.” He confessed, guiltily hanging his head. Eliza’s eyes softened and she wrapped him in a comforting hug, rubbing his back gently.

“No, no Tom I get it. I know it’s frustrating, and I wish I could tell you guys. It’s all so complicated, and well, let’s put it at: I am not the only party that could be affected.” She said softly as she released a somber looking Tom. He nodded in response, understanding that the situation must be dire and figured that he at the very least could help in comforting his friend.

Eliza and Tom whispered a small goodbye to each other as they went up the stairs to their respective dormitories. That night Eliza didn’t get much sleep, the full moon outside her window causing her to stress over Remus. She was frustrated she couldn’t do anything to aid him, the wolfsbane potion Snape brewed him only did so much for Lupin. At the very least Eliza could bring down her warmest blanket to him in the morning, make him a cup of tea, and give him loads of chocolate. It didn’t seem like enough to her and then she remembered he’d been transforming alone for nearly thirteen years, company would most likely please him more than anything.

She got up bright and early the next morning, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she quietly opened her trunk. Eliza unpacked a folded-up quilt, a couple bars of Honeydukes chocolate, and a blue jumper. She threw the blue jumper over her uniform and tossed the remaining items in her bookbag. Once bounding down the stairs and out the common room door Eliza walked across the castle, so quiet and serene, the quiet pinks and oranges of the sunrise bounced off of the corridor walls. Reflecting on last night Eliza walked past where she had seen the black dog and stared at the ominous Whomping Willow, still in the morning glow. It must have been her imagination, she knew Remus was able to change into a werewolf in his office while under the influence of wolfsbane. Even if he didn’t, the dog was considerably smaller than a werewolf, she decided though the dog may have been real it could’ve been a stray from Hogsmeade. But, even that theory didn’t hold much strength. Shaking her head at herself, Eliza continued across the castle till she arrived to Remus’s office door. Thinking it better to just let herself in, Eliza quietly opened door to find an extremely skinny and pale Remus laying on the floor next to his desk, very much naked. Berating herself for expecting him to be fully clothed, Eliza dug around his drawer till she found his kettle, once lighting a fire in the vacant fireplace, she busied herself with preparing him a cup of tea while Remus slept on. Finally, she heard him begin to stir and she cautiously walked over to him, blanket in hand as she wrapped the large quilt around his shivering body. Gradually Remus began to open his eyes, the green orbs searching around the room at first in confusion, but then they settled on Eliza’s concerned features and he smiled despite himself.

“Good morning.” He said, voice extremely hoarse with exhaustion. Eliza pressed a warm kiss against his lips and handed him his tea. Remus graciously took the cup and began to sip the warm beverage, relishing in the warmth that spread from his head to his toes, and silently thanked himself for accepting Eliza’s help.

“Hi, how are you feeling?” Eliza asked, her voice flooded with caution. Remus gently smiled at her and shrugged.

“I could be better, but I’ll feel much better after I recoup. Would you mind moving this to my bedroom?” He asked, voice lilting up ever so slightly as he gestured to his naked state. Laughing Eliza helped up the feeble Remus and walked with him over to the fireplace, after he opened up the passageway to his bedroom Eliza aided him the short distance to his bed.

Flipping open Remus’s trunk, she searched for a clean pair of underwear, the coziest pajamas she could find, and a thick pair of wool socks. She insisted on helping Remus get dressed and his pallid features turned a tomato red as Eliza finished buttoning up his pajama shirt. Setting his cup of tea on the nightstand adjacent to Remus’s bed, Eliza broke off a generous piece of chocolate and handed it to the weary looking Lupin. After she tucked the thick quilt and remaining covers around Remus she decided to join him in the bed, she coaxed his head down so it was laying on her lap. She was calmed by the steady sound of his breathing and began to run her fingers gently through his hair.

“Now this isn’t fair at all.” Remus sighed as he closed his brilliant green eyes. “You are utterly spoiling me to death, I won’t be able to do this process alone again after knowing this luxury.” He raved on and smiled sweetly up at Eliza. She kissed his lips quickly and continued brushing his hair with her fingers.

“Good thing you won’t have to do this alone again. You refuse help that is so easily provided Remus. I don’t mind taking care of you, it’s refreshing actually, I feel as if you’re always looking out for me.” Eliza whispered, lifting up her wand so she could light up the fireplace while staying next to Lupin.

“See I disagree, you’ve greatly improved my life without even realizing it. Eliza, I don’t think you understand how independent you are. Yes, I’ve comforted you a couple times but besides that, I’m at your beck and call, darling” Remus stated, though his voice remained gentle and soft there was a slight edge to his tone. Eliza realized that he must think of this frequently.

“Remus, love, while the changes to my life may not be evident to you. They are quite clear to me, I’ve never been happier.” She stated simply, moving on from running her fingers through his hair to stroking his face, tracing the faint outline of his scars.

“Mhhm. I love you.” He whispered, turning over slightly so that he was hugging her middle. Eliza grinned and rubbed his back.

“I love you too. Remus?” Eliza asked, biting her lip nervously as she watched him half snore into the pillow as he turned to face her. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

“I know you’re recovering, but the years drawing closer to an end. What is going to happen to us after I leave Hogwarts?” She asked, focusing intently on the pattern she was lightly tracing onto Remus’s back. He pulled away and sat up against the pillows, a frown line evident on his sickly-looking face.

“If we want to continue this after graduation, it’ll be difficult.” He stated as he ran his hands over his face, taking a small bite out of the chocolate on the nightstand.

“That’s fine with me, I want to be with you. I really can’t imagine myself with anyone else…” Eliza trailed off as she snuck glances at him, her stomach dropped at torn expression on his face.

“I was worried about that. Eliza, the last thing I want is to drag you down with me. If you are still hellbent on the Auror track then we would have to do a little bit of long distance, it’s not an easy career path. You’ll be busy and I don’t want to muck up your future.” Remus said, looking more and more distressed the longer he thought about it. Eliza frowned, having to keep calm as the emotions raced through her.

“Remus, I can do distance, this isn’t some silly affair. I hope you know that you mean more to me than that.” She paused to look over at him, his weary expression wavered ever so slightly and she chewed on her lip. “I want to pursue the Auror track still, but I think we could do it. The publicity of our relationship would have to be gradual, and fabricated. But it’s worth it if I can be with you.” Eliza concluded, a defiant look evident, it made her eyes look greener though they still held that golden hue of brown. Remus stared into them, perplexed and mulling over his response.

“If it’s really what you want. To be with me, though I can never understand why. You are so young and intelligent, beautiful. Eliza, you can do much better than me. But, I won’t stop you. I’m too selfish to. I love you too much to let you go.” He confessed, forest green eyes never leaving her face. Eliza wished she were happier at his answer, he wanted to be with her, but wished it wasn’t her first choice.

“Remus, I don’t want anyone else. I can’t do better than you, because you’re all I want. I’ve never met anyone who so clearly understands me, and allows me to be myself even though it may drive them crazy.” Eliza stated desperately, her hands clutching his clammy ones together. A slight shine enveloped his eyes as he gazed at her, Remus wished she didn’t want him so ardently, and yet he couldn’t deny the flutter of his stomach when she confessed her love for him.

“It’s been so long since I had someone who accepts me for every facet of my being.” Remus whispered, his voice so light Eliza barely understood. But she processed the words hastily and embraced him, loving how warm he was and how right it felt to hold him.

They spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled up in each other’s arms, blissfully accepting that they would indeed be in each other’s lives in the near future. Despite the exhausted state of being Remus was in he was able to hold conversation in between his frequent naps. He finally revealed to Eliza his theory on Peter Pettigrew, and how he believed Peter may had played a larger part in James and Lily’s deaths. Eliza listened intently and never thought to mention the large black dog she had seen the night before, not knowing how prudent this information would be to Remus.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Remus's aid, Eliza continues studying for her NEWTS the upcoming week, on a small break she gets more information from Remus about their growing theory about Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black.

The frigid cold weather of February faded into the hinting glimmer of spring, Eliza couldn’t focus on the abundance of sunshine that began to shine through the dreary corridors of Hogwarts. Because she spent the entirety of her days either in the library with her two best friends or in Remus’s office. Participating in the same activity at both locations: studying for NEWTS, the exams would take place the following week after Easter holiday. Though, Eliza did enjoy studying with Remus a tad bit more, there were some rewards he gave her that she couldn’t receive from her friends. It was on a golden afternoon that Remus had begun to test Eliza on the practical portion of her Defense Against the Dark Arts NEWTS.

“I can’t do it. Remus we’ve been going at this for hours and its absolutely beautiful outside. I can’t concentrate!” Eliza exclaimed, throwing down her wand in frustration as she watched the playful golden rays light up the Hogwarts grounds, everything looked greener and seemed to exude warmth while she was indoors. Remus stood next to her as she longingly stared out the window and brushed away her raven hair as he pressed little kisses on the curve of her neck. Finally working his way up to the shell of her ear, he delighted in the little moans she made as he gently nibbled her ear lobe, spinning Eliza around, Remus engulfed her in a passionate kiss, wiping away all of Eliza’s annoyances at having to study for so long. His lips moved gently against her own, occasionally biting at her lower lip, which made her sigh heavily.

“Just give me another half an hour. I have some theories about what I saw on the Marauder’s map and I wanted to talk them over with you. We can go outside for that, I promise.” He said, despite the boring occupation of studying, Remus had spent most of the afternoon laughing and smiling at her.

During the course of the day Lupin began to understand that Eliza was naturally intelligent and the idea of studying for something she already excelled at simply bored her. He laughed at her excessive groaning at having to repeat the same defensive spell over and over, and smiled at every eye roll because it was evident that she was going to pass. Remus couldn’t help but drag out the studying process ever so slightly just so he could spend time with her. Though he would admit he was being harder on her than he would be on an exam, she was performing the spells beautifully, but he knew ones like her Patronus charm could be stronger. He couldn’t help but make sure she would be well equipped in an emergency.

“Don’t you think it’s ironic that you’re having me go over these werewolf stunning spells so meticulously?” Eliza asked, breathless from working so hard, Remus shrugged at her and straightened the dummy she had nearly blown up.

“Well, since you’re insistent on continuing to date a werewolf. I think it’s best to equip you on all spells necessary for stopping one. Eliza, I can never guarantee what’s going to happen when I transform.” Remus said gravely, sternness entering his tone as he gave Eliza that silencing look. She gulped back all of her insistent comments and tried the stunning spell, again, and again until Remus was satisfied with it.

 Finally, they wrapped up the final bullet point on Eliza’s study sheet. Bouncing off the walls Eliza literally dragged Remus out of his office, enjoying how empty the grounds were due to Easter holiday. They obviously couldn’t hold hands as they walked outside onto the sunlit grounds, Eliza closed her eyes and basked in the sudden warmth that touched her skin. Remus gazed at her adoringly, watching how the sun bounced off her hair, he could pick out the smallest sliver of red in her raven locks. But mostly, Remus looked into her eyes, in the sun the hazel shade looked like a forest, swimming with different hues of green and brown. He quickly realized how he was falling more in love with her each day, and the thought alone terrified him.  As they began to walk, Remus mindlessly began to steer them towards the Black Lake, he was feeling nostalgic to the first time they’d had a heart to heart, when he had almost kissed her.  

“So, what are your theories?” Eliza asked as she raced over to the sparkling Black Lake. The lake was effervescent in the light, still that ominous inky black color, but it looked much friendlier with the sun shining opposed to the dark clouds.

Remus sat down on a rock next to Eliza and pursed his lips in concentration, “Well, I tried a million different spells that would weed through potential inaccuracies on the map, these are the ones I used when we first created it. Nothing, Peter’s name didn’t disappear, nor did he leave the Gryffindor boys dormitory the entirety of the day. So, now. I still don’t know what to think. Maybe he somehow managed to dodge whatever curse Sirius threw at him. That still doesn’t explain why he’s here.” Remus thought aloud, occasionally glancing at Eliza who was spellbound by his explanation. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and looked out across the lake in thought.

“Why did you only hear about this through third party resources? Weren’t you best friends with these people, why were you on the outside?” Eliza asked, her tone filled with concentration as she curiously looked up at Remus. His green eyes darkened considerably as he looked down at her, with one look, Eliza knew the answer.

“They thought I was the spy. James and Lily didn't, but the rest of the Order did. They thought I would conspire against them because I’m a werewolf. You know, link up with the others who were on Voldemort's side, Greyback and that lot.” Remus said, his voice was once again tight and rigid. All the playfulness from earlier that day seemed to fade away from his face. Eliza’s lips pressed into a hard line, she unsuccessfully tried to be understanding of the situation but once again, found herself furious at Remus’s ill treatment.

“That’s terrible. I’m sorry for asking Remus, and for everything you’ve gone through. You don’t deserve it.” She mumbled hotly under her breath, Remus looked around before tightly squeezing her hand.

“I’m used to it. But as a precaution, no one told me who the secret keeper was. Last I was informed it was Sirius, but if they changed it to Peter, well I would be very much in the dark about that.” He confessed while biting his lip, releasing his grip on Eliza’s hand. Despite the lack of students at Hogwarts during the holiday they couldn’t risk faculty seeing them. Eliza stared at the Black Lake, her frustration growing at the lack of information both her and Remus shared.

“What was his Animagus?” Eliza asked, wondering if Peter had taken the shape of the black dog she saw last night.

“Peter’s? Oh, he was a rat. That’s why I think it’s possible that he escaped from Sirius.” Remus noted, his voice becoming gentler, Eliza could tell he was growing tired of this conversation. Eliza hummed in response, they were at a roadblock and she thought it best to avoid thinking on the topic any longer, it would only irritate her.

“You think I’m going to pass my NEWTS?” Eliza asked, laughter evident in her voice. She knew that Remus had fairly helped her prepare for the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, never revealing the type of questions she’d see on the written portion or fully revealing what would be part of the practical portion. She admired him greatly for this, knowing full well she would have refused the answers even if he’d offered. Eliza was reproachful of cheating, and thought it would be an insult to the year’s worth of studying.

“Oh, I think you’ll be just fine. Thank you for taking some time out of you schedule to help me prep the third years exam. I rather think they’ll enjoy the obstacle course.” Remus said as a wide smile spread across his face. Eliza grinned in response as she admired how beautiful he looked in the glowing sunlight. “I never realized how much you detested studying.” He added with a chuckle, motioning that they get up and head back to the castle.

“I hate studying, especially if I already know the information well. Preparing with you was a bad idea, you end up distracting me, I’d rather talk with you than do coursework.” She added with a small laugh as they made their way across the grounds. Remus winked mischievously at her and steered Eliza towards the stairs that lead up to his office.

They spent the remainder of the day in his office, doing many things outside the realm of studying. Fulfilling one of Eliza’s wet dreams, Remus had spent much of that evening pinning down Eliza’s hips to his desk and eating her out, teasing her with every swipe of his tongue. When nighttime quickly approached Eliza begrudgingly left Remus and headed back to the Ravenclaw girl’s dormitory, deeming it a good idea to get lots of rest before she began her week of exams. Speaking of exams, the yearlong process of studying was nothing compared to the quick and easy process that came with actually taking the tests. By the end of the week Eliza felt entirely liberated, finally free of any further coursework until she began Auror training. She was free to think over everything she and Remus had discussed at the Black Lake that past Sunday.

As she walked down the corridor up to Ravenclaw tower her mind spun with endless possibilities, but she decided to fix upon the theory that was beginning to seem clear to her. So, the members of the Order clearly begun to be weary towards Remus, resulting in him getting a filtered version of information passed between James and Lily, and the secret keeper. The last time Remus was in the know, it had been Sirius. But if the remaining members of the Order thought him to be a spy, they would see it best if they switched secret keepers under Remus’s nose. Therefore, they must have decided to appoint Peter, and keep Lupin in the dark. Eliza halted to a stop as the light bulb began to burn bright and hot in her head. Yes, it all made sense now, if Peter was the secret keeper that meant he must have betrayed James and Lily by selling them out to Voldemort. However, he was able to frame Sirius for everything because the only people who knew Peter was secret keeper were dead. His Animagus was a rat, which meant it was Peter who killed all of those people and was able to escape quickly and easily while leaving Sirius there, as the supposed guilty party.

Looking around incredulously Eliza began to race down the corridor to Remus’s office when she saw a familiar form walking towards the Whomping Willow. Gaping as she observed Remus who was holding the Marauder’s Map, tap a knot that was visible at the base of the Whomping Willow and entering through a small passageway at the trunk. Not taking a moment to think, Eliza sprinted outside and over to the Whomping Willow, which was still very much frozen from Remus’s spell. She cast away every fiber of her being that was screaming at her not to go, gripping her wand tightly, Eliza ducked down into the dirt covered passageway at the trunk of the willow tree.

“Lumos.” She whispered as she traveled down the dark passageway, this must be one of the trails that lead to Hogsmeade, Eliza tried to recall if she’d carefully studied this one on the Marauder’s Map or not.

It felt like the passageway went on forever, Eliza nearly tripped several times on scattered tree roots that made up the majority of the underground corridor. There was no way that the Marauder’s created this, but then again, Eliza had seriously doubted their ability before. After all, they were thirteen years old when three out of the four members became Animagi, and then fourteen when they finished the most brilliant piece of magic Eliza had ever laid her eyes on. She could be partial to the map because it was Remus's baby, she was at the brink of chuckling at how offended he had been when she questioned the maps accuracy. But she didn’t have anything to laugh about now, she was positive in her theory about Peter Pettigrew, and something told her Remus must be on the brink of making the same realization. After walking for what felt like eternity, Eliza walked into a small, chilly room. The furniture was broken into pieces and the creaky, dull floorboards contained sporadic scratch marks that seemed to cover the walls as well. She swallowed in an attempt to moisten her now dry throat, this must be the Shrieking Shack, the location of all of Remus's transformations during his seven years at Hogwarts. 

Eliza stood there for a moment, stunned at the sudden shift the year had taken when she heard loud noises coming from upstairs. No, they weren't simply noises, they were voices, she could hear two people arguing, one of whom sounded just like Remus. Rolling back her shoulders and gripping her wand a little tighter, Eliza firstly whispered: "Nox," then begun her ascent up the creaky stairs, attempting to be mindful of the loudness of her steps. As she reached the top of the stairs she could hear the voices coming closer and closer and before she knew it the door to the right of her opened wildly and she was face to face with Sirius Black. He looked ghastly, skin almost taking on a translucent quality in comparison to his beady, blue eyes, which looked fishy compared to the alabaster of his skin. The greasy black hair on his head hung below his shoulders in horrid knots, he assessed Eliza acutely before ushering her inside, looked to be a more confusing scene. She walked in to see Remus holding out his wand, the look in his eyes terrified Eliza, he was pointing the end of his wand at a short, balding fat man who stood, shuddering in the corner of the room. Directly to the left to her, sprawled out on the musty bed was a stunned Professor Snape, and even curiouser, she saw Hermione Granger, an injured Ron Weasley, and a ghostfaced Harry Potter huddled in the other corner, across from Snape. They looked at her, extremely confused to see their teaching assistant in the same room as two of their professors and the notorious escaped prisoner from Azkaban, Sirius Black. As Sirius took his place next to Lupin, with his wand pointed at the fat man, she saw Remus relax in the slightest and turn to her in absolute surprise. Though, the darkened look in is eye didn't fade away as he took in Eliza's frightened features. 

"I'm assuming you've figured it out?" He asked, voice shaky but gentle as he ever so slightly lowered his wand. 

"Yes, I remembered what you said about the rest of the Order believing you to be a spy and pieced together the remaining information afterwards. They must have switched secret keepers to ensure you were in the dark, only, little did they know that Peter Pettigrew betrayed James and Lily opposed to Sirius." Eliza explained, her voice hoarse from the extreme dryness in her throat. Lupin smiled at her and his eyes twinkled with pride, the fat man eyed Eliza curiously as Sirius looked back and forth between Remus and Eliza before grinning. 

"She's clever, you did alright Remus." Sirius applauded his friend showing off his yellowed teeth in a sincere grin, while the three third years in the corner looked even more confused than they did earlier, except Hermione who seemed to be processing a realization. 

"You never fail to amaze me, Eliza. That's exactly it." Remus told her kindly and held her hand, no longer afraid of revealing their relationship to those around him. 

"Now Remus, now that we're done with the heart eyes can we move onto killing him?!" Shouted Sirius as he thrusted his wand towards Peter, Eliza's eyes widened in horror as Remus turned away from her to face Peter. That's when Harry Potter stood up defiantly, shaking ever so slightly with either anger or fear, and stood in between Lupin and Black. 

"No! Killing him won't solve anything, it'd be better if we brought him to the castle. That way, Sirius we can clear your name, have him go to Azkaban instead of you." Harry insisted, his voice strong and sure. Eliza nodded in agreement, she didn't think she could stomach seeing Remus kill another person, despite their betrayal. Instead she saw him sigh in frustration, something he did quite often around her. 

"Harry, he killed your parents. Don't you want justice for what happened?" Lupin asked with a cocked eyebrow, green eyes still holding the dark desire to kill Peter. Harry took a step closer to him and shook his head. Lupin looked from Harry to Eliza's pallid face and sighed again as he lowered his wand to his side. 

"Fine. Sirius, let's chain up Peter and bring him back to the castle. Wouldn't you prefer to walk around a free man opposed to committing the crimes you have been accused of?" Remus asked lightly as he moved away from the now nodding Sirius to tie a magical bond around Peter, he beckoned Eliza over and she aided him in sealing the magical bonds that kept Peter from moving. She then stunned Pettigrew and enchanted the bonds to move Peter on their own as they begun to exit the Shrieking Shack. 

As they walked up the dirt path that lead up to the Whomping Willow, she could faintly hear the conversation happening between Sirius and Lupin far back as they enchanted Snape to float behind them. She smiled to herself as she heard Lupin reassure Sirius that she meant more to him than a simple affair, the grin on her face broadened as she overheard Lupin give Black the small details of their relationship, and how ardently he loved her. Eliza knew that she didn't regret any of the crazy occurrences during that evening because of her love for Remus, that always seemed to make everything worth it. She looked back and caught Remus's eye, blushing a deep scarlet as he winked at her, the kind smile that spread across his face so reminiscent of the first time they'd locked eyes in the Great Hall way back in September. 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night takes an unexpected turn of events and Eliza is forced to deal with something she had been dreading: Remus's werewolf transformation.

Eliza continued to trek up the dirt path that lead to the base of the Whomping Willow, for being notorious trouble makers, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were silent for the majority of the walk. Occasionally they would make eye contact with each other, communicating in an unknown language to Eliza, she certainly didn’t speak thirteen-year-old. Up until Harry gently tapped the back of her uniform, his electric green eyes urgent with an unspoken question that seemed poised at the tip of his tongue.

“Eliza, have you and Professor Lupin been together the entirety of this school year?” Harry asked with suspicion laced in his voice, as if he already knew the answer. Eliza weighed her answer carefully, technically she wasn’t classified as a student anymore so she and Remus really couldn’t get into any trouble. After all, she only had the formality of the graduation ceremony in two days.

“Not the whole school year, but yes we’ve been together, secret for obvious reasons.” Eliza whispered as she gave him a warning look, please don’t tell anyone. Harry nodded and glanced at Ron and Hermione who flicked their gaze between Eliza and Lupin before promptly shrugging.

“Is it some kind of affair?” Hermione asked, her voice clear and distinct. Chuckling, Eliza looked down into the girl’s urgent, golden brown eyes and shook her head.

“No, it’s much more than that. I would never jeopardize his job if it was a stupid affair. I love him a lot.” Eliza replied softly, her eyes glazing over with the warm affection that seemed to always possess her whenever Remus was near. Hermione smiled ever so slightly at this and the four of them continued their walk in silence.

“It’s obvious he loves you too. I figured it out a little while ago, he is always gazing at you during class if you’re paying good enough attention. I doubt anyone else picked up on that detail.” Hermione said, reassuring Eliza with a small pat on her arm. Nodding, she glanced back at Remus, who seemed engaged in a conversation with Sirius.

The group finally crawled out of the entranceway to the Whomping Willow, Eliza pressed her wand into the knot of the tree to ensure they all exited safely. Peter Pettigrew was left whimpering next to the tree as Harry and Sirius strolled away from the rest of the group, and Hermione assessed the cut on Ron’s leg. Eliza walked over to Remus and kindly pecked him on the cheek, he was looking considerably pallid despite the upturn the evening had. Before she could ask him, what was wrong she noticed how the grounds seemed illuminated by some unknown light, turning she felt her face go cold as she saw the bright, full moon hanging in the sky. Looking annoyingly beautiful and picturesque amongst the sprinkle of silver stars that streamed across the inky night sky.

“Remus did you take your potion?” Eliza asked, her voice cracking as it had gone dry again. That’s when she noticed Remus collapse into a large heap, he was shaking violently as he groaned and yelped, bones seemed to conjoin and come back together in odd places. Very quickly the answer became evident to Eliza: he hadn’t taken the wolfsbane, and they were all in extreme danger.

Sirius locked eyes with Eliza and briskly moved her out of the way as he transformed into a large, black dog. The same dog Eliza had seen that night after studying in the library with Tom and Sarah. Eliza stared horrified as Remus began to shed his clothes, body elongating and silver-grey fur emerged from his skin as the yelping faded into coarse, rough howls. In a blur she saw his golden eyes lock onto her, and the trio backed up against the Whomping Willow as he stepped towards them, snarling. Eliza gasped as Sirius jumped onto Remus’s back in dog form. The two fought for a bit before Remus tossed Sirius off of his back and towards the treeline, he then continued to stalk towards them. Remembering the spell, she had practiced so meticulously the other day Eliza shakily pointed her wand at Remus and stunned him with the anti-werewolf hex. He staggered ever so slightly and Eliza saw this as her opportunity,

“RUN, GET OUT OF THE WAY!” She screamed at Ron and Hermione, for Harry had already ran after Sirius. In all of this commotion she noticed far off near the trees, Peter Pettigrew was shifting into his rat form, in a blink of an eye he was gone.

She didn’t have enough time to stress on Pettigrew’s disappearance, she chucked a branch at the base of the Whomping Willow towards the werewolf Lupin who had his golden eyes locked on Snape’s still unconscious form. He snarled viciously at Eliza and she ducked under the willow tree and ran back down into the secret passageway towards the Shrieking Shack. She knew her plan was effective by the snarls and howls that were only a short distance behind her. Eliza was panting and running faster than she ever thought possible until she exited the passageway and backed up against the far wall of the Shrieking Shack. Completely off guard, Lupin tackled Eliza and was inches away from biting her neck when she screamed the werewolf stunning hex viciously at Lupin, tossing the werewolf across the room, knocking him out.

Eliza nervously wiped the sweat off of her brow, still holding her wand with a hand numbingly tight grip as she observed the werewolf. The hex had worked better than she envisioned, the only telling sign that he was awake was the steady breathing coming from the furry body. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Eliza strode to the opposite side of the room and sat down against the wall, still panting from the fight or flight instincts that were still reeling. Her adrenaline was causing her heart to continue to pump loud and hard in her ear. She was thankful that her quick-thinking skills had paid off, thankfully no one had gotten hurt, Eliza hadn’t realized she’d been trembling. She had been so close to getting bitten by Lupin, and she promised herself she would not be informing him of that the next morning, the last thing he needed is to feel even more guilty than he already would be.

As the night progressed Eliza begun to notice Lupin turning back into a human, the elongated wolf form began to shrink down, back to his usual height. Then, the fur, snout, and pointed ears begun to fade away, firstly he looked like a rather small dog. Once the sun began to rise above the horizon he was shivering, white, and very naked. Eliza cautiously exited the Shrieking Shack and headed back up to the castle in need of chocolate, a tea kettle, and a warm blanket. As she finished acquiring all of these things from Lupin’s vacant office she headed back across the dew-covered grounds, and back into the Whomping Willow. Before ducking back into the underground passageway, Eliza admired how the sun seemed to make Hogwarts shimmer, the mixture of pinks and peach lightened Eliza’s breathing and steadied her hammering heart. After the events of last night, she’d forgotten how to collect herself, she reassured herself as she felt the warm breeze tickle her face that everything would be okay. She would make sure of that.

When Eliza entered the Shrieking Shack, she threw the bag with Remus’s clothes across the room and wrapped his still shaking body in the warm quilt. He was still very much asleep and Eliza didn’t see any point in waking him, instead, she repeated the process she had done when she’d first helped him recover from those monthly transformations. Though, she was sure this time he’d be in a different state, the wolfsbane potion lessened the effects of the transformation, making it milder and slightly more bearable. But last night Remus had endured the full brunt of the curse and then some, he’d suffered against two different hexes Eliza had spat at him. She didn’t feel guilty about those, he would have promptly bitten her if she hadn’t stopped him. Eliza couldn’t help but shudder at the thought as she lit the fire in the musty, ash-filled fireplace and began making a cup of tea. She turned around and sat down against the wall when she noticed a scrap of parchment littered near Remus that she hadn’t noticed earlier, getting up and crossing across the room she picked up the tattered note and read:

 

_Remus,_

_Harry helped me escape. Don’t worry, I’ll send word once I’m in a secure spot._

_All the best,_

_Sirius_

 

Nodding to herself, Eliza breathed a sigh of relief and crossed back towards the fireplace and warmed her hands.

 “Eliza?” Her heart skipped a beat at the hoarse but gentle voice that filled her ears, turning she saw a very confused Remus sit up, drawing the quilt tightly against himself. “What happened last night? Why am I in the Shrieking Shack?” Remus asked, near delirious as he tried to sort through last night’s events. Looking down on the fresh scars that bloomed up on his pallid skin he turned sheet white and wearily glanced up at Eliza who was now biting her lip.

“You transformed last night, and you hadn’t taken your wolfsbane potion so you went through the whole process. Um, I stunned you to throw you off course and lead you down here where I hexed you again before you got too close to me. I’m sorry but in all of the chaos Peter got away, he transformed into a rat and fled the scene as you were transforming. Sirius left you this note, he escaped, so that’s good at least. Most of the night I stayed here and watched you to make sure you didn’t wake up, but my second hex knocked you out cold.” Eliza told him as she poured him a cup of tea in one of his chipped mugs, Remus kindly took the warm beverage and sipped it.

“Thank you. I’m sorry for endangering you, and for causing Peter’s disappearance. God, I always find a way to mess everything up, don’t I?” Remus muttered to himself, growing increasingly distressed. He threw off the quilt and started to dress in the clothes Eliza had left out for him, continuing to curse under his breath.

“No, Remus, it’s not your fault…”

“Eliza please!” Remus interrupted harshly, she backed away slightly, a wounded look flashing across her eyes before Eliza regained her composure. “Stop trying to apologize for me. It is my fault that Sirius was almost taken back to Azkaban. It is my fault that Peter managed to escape. I was careless and forgot to take my potion because I was so wrapped up in everything.” He lamented, pacing around the small living room. Eliza swallowed before attempting to speak again, controlling the ferocity of her temper.

“Remus, stop it.” She spoke sternly, causing him to stop and stare at her. “Stop trying to find a way to blame yourself for everything. Look at the positive things that came out of last night. Your best friend isn’t a murderer nor did he betray James and Lily, he also is no longer in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. You transforming into a werewolf wasn’t the sole cause of Peter disappearing, he’s a sneaky thing, I believe he would have attempted to do so regardless. What’s important is that no one got hurt, and that you’re okay, I’m okay, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius are all okay.” Eliza said, clearly making sure she was distinct with each word. She neared him and tenderly cupped his cheek with her hand, she smiled slightly when he leaned his face into her palm. Finally accepting her comfort and reassurance.

Eliza dragged Remus over by the fire and handed him a large piece of chocolate which he silently ate, never breaking his gaze from her face, so lovely in the firelight. Reaching out to hold her hand he smiled sweetly at her, the light softening his green eyes, making Eliza’s heart melt ever so slightly.

“This is something I can get used to. Eliza, I must confess that I fall more in love with you each day. I’m happy that you choose to stay with me each day, despite all of the complications.” Remus confessed earnestly. Eliza smiled and leaned in to kiss his lips, brushing them again with a butterfly light kiss before moving away.

“I feel the same way and somehow more for you. Remus, I never expected to be with anybody this year. I was going to focus on my studies and then somehow you come into my life and nothing is the same. You enchanted me that first day and continue to do so with each smile.” Eliza said softly, she began to trace patterns on Remus’s cold hands absentmindedly. She enjoyed touching him and was thrilled to feel butterflies flutter in her stomach when he caressed her cheek.

They moved closer together and huddled by the fireplace though neither of them were cold, because they held each other with such familiarity and warmth. Eliza reflected that she would be content to spend the rest of her days like this, wrapped in Remus’s warm and protective embrace. But as always there was something pressing, both Remus and Eliza never seemed to be able to escape reality long enough. Cleaning up the supplies and stuffing them back into her bag, Eliza and Remus begun the slow trek up the Whomping Willow passageway, holding hands until they felt the heat from the sun on their faces.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Eliza graduates from Hogwarts there's one last hurdle her and Remus must conquer before they can be together.

The Hogwarts graduation feast and ceremony was one of the brightest occasions of Eliza’s life, she sat in a cushy seat in her Ravenclaw robes, right next to her best friends as Dumbledore entertained them with a long and intricate speech. It revolved around friendship and the great benefits of learning and he finally concluded it with a twinkle in those blue eyes, how greatly important it was to find those who loved us and to continue to hold them close. During this section of the speech Remus and Eliza locked eyes from across the Great Hall and grinned at each other, pleased to know they had found true, unadulterated love in the other.

Following the ceremony portion of the graduation commencement was the most lavish feast Eliza had ever experienced, the kitchen elves pulled out all the stops with mountains of steaming mashed potatoes, thick gravies, and succulent chicken, pork, and roast beef. Her and Tom gorged themselves on everything that sat in front of them, taking in their final Hogwarts feast. Along with them, the whole hall was alive and cheery in chatter about the future. The two friends laughed together about how they would undoubtedly cross paths again, they welcomed Sarah over to their table and the trio finished up dessert with talks of a pub crawl in the near future. The final section of the ceremony made Eliza’s eyes misty with tears, she had shed her Ravenclaw along with the other seventh years, and upon hearing her name she handed it to Professor Dumbledore, who then enchanted the robe to levitate above the hall. Once all of the seventh years robes were collected and floating in midair, the faculty members cast a beaming shot of bright, yellow light that shifted to an emerald green, which then faded into a blue hue, and then finally the light brightened into a deep, maroon as the robes assembled themselves into the Hogwarts crest. The seventh years cheered and applauded when the crest erupted into beautiful, white flecks of light that faded all around them. Remus watched Eliza intently at this moment and felt his heart pump loudly when he saw the dimples in her cheeks and her bright, beautiful smile.

The day following the commencement ceremony Eliza packed up her trunks and Rose, her lovely, tawny owl, and left the remainder of her belongings in her bedroom. Filch would collect hers and the other seventh years trunks and owls that night. After feeding Rose several treats, Eliza exited the girl’s dormitory and took in the Ravenclaw common room for the last time. Her stomach lurched and she felt the tears well in her eyes as she gazed up at the glass ceiling, seeing nothing but blue sky and the beaming sun. She ran her fingers across the leather-bound books that littered the high shelves of the common room, some she had the pleasure of reading and others she hadn’t touched. Eliza chastised herself for not finding additional time to read during her seven years at Hogwarts, though she had to admit, she had accomplished a lot. Looking around the effervescent, blue and bronze colored common room one last time, Eliza blew a gentle kiss and whispered a small goodbye as she closed the door, a final conclusion on her time as a Ravenclaw. 

Mindlessly wandering the corridors, she knew deep down where she longed to go and allowed her feet to carry her up the familiar stairs and down the small corridor to Remus’s oak door. She let herself in and was stunned to see the books that had once graced his shelves packed up neatly in his tattered trunk, her heart broke when she saw his desk was clear, and the record player on the far shelf packed away neatly. Amongst the tidy packing she saw Remus, once again wearing a soft sweater that was covered in patches, thankfully, he was looking much healthier since his last transformation. The grey had all but left his hair, and the only remnants of that fateful night were the new scars etched onto his cheeks and neck.

“What happened?” Eliza asked, her voice floated lightly across the tense air, so much more childlike than she had hoped. Remus turned in surprise, smiling kindly at her as he pressed his lips against her own.

Eliza brushed away the kiss, more concerned with the sudden clean state of his office. “Have you been sacked?!” She pressed, gripping onto his arm before he could turn away from her. Remus looked down at her sadly and held her hand up to his lips, pressing his warm lips against her ice cold skin. She was briefly distracted by the brush of his long eyelashes against her hand before she could focus back in on the situation. 

“I didn’t get fired. Though, I sincerely thought that we would get caught, and I would be promptly sacked. No, Eliza, I quit.” He stated it as if it were simple. As if Hogwarts wasn’t losing the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher its ever had. It was blameless which made the sinking feeling in her stomach plummet, she couldn't help but feel guilty for everything that happened the night he had transformed.

“Why the hell would you quit?” Eliza asked her voice incredulous. Remus chuckled at her shocked state and continued to pack up his things.

“Snape gave word that I was a werewolf, I thought it best to quit before I get owls with Howler’s, begging me for my resignation. It’s a little bit more dignified I think to leave on my own accord. Nonetheless, Dumbledore has done enough for me, I can’t possibly trouble him by staying.” Remus said as he leaned against his desk to face Eliza, she stared at him with her mouth wide open, still stunned by the whole ordeal. The selfish part of her wondered what that meant for them, but she pushed that away, what would he do next?

“So, what happens now?” She asked, still very much naive. This caused Remus to laugh bitterly as he looked down at his shoe.

“What happens indeed. I don’t know, find a job that will take me. Move around and find another. Repeat the cycle.” He stated softly, his voice not hovering above a whisper. Remus locked eyes with Eliza and she noticed how gentle they looked. Grabbing her hand, Remus pulled her close and sighed heavily.

“Eliza, due to the state of everything, I feel it’s best we…”

“No.” She firmly said. Releasing his hands entirely, not caring if she had interrupted him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Remus we’ll figure something out.” Eliza insisted as he shook his head back and forth, running his hand through his sandy brown hair.

“Please, just listen me for once Eliza. I don’t want to be responsible for the death of your future. You are an intelligent woman who is full of promise, I cannot have you abandoning your career path on my conscious. Eliza, leave, I’m begging you.” Remus said, his voice shaking but remaining calm and gentle. Eliza shook her head and tried to move closer but Remus moved away from her. 

"Can you stop trying to push me away Remus? For God's sake how often do to I have to tell you that I want to be with you for it to sink in? I love you, so much that I am willing to disregard the Auror track so I can be with you. Remus you make me that happy, please just, let me in for once." Eliza begged her throat cracking as tears threatened to spill over her eyes, she pushed those back. The last thing she needed was to cry in front of him, Remus looked pained as he gripped the wood of his desk, knuckles turning white at his firm grip. 

"Eliza, it's because of that I have to end this. Can't you see? I don't want you giving up the Auror track for me, Eliza think about your father! What would he want from his only daughter? Certainly not for her to run away with a werewolf, I'm damaged Eliza. I am not whole, I will never be able to give you everything you deserve. Please, leave." Remus whispered, Eliza stepped away from him, hurt that he would use her father's wishes against her. Though, deep down she knew her father would be disappointed if she gave up on the Auror track. At least, the fantasy she had created of her father would be angry with her. Lupin didn't give her an opportunity to speak again as he ushered her out he door and shut it tightly behind him, guilty thoughts lingering in his mind at the broken look in Eliza's eyes. 

Huffing, Eliza stomped away from his office and brushed away the angry tears that began to stream down her face. She walked around the castle dozens of times, taking odd staircases and turns that lead her down different corridors or to dead ends. She wouldn’t let Remus leave her that easily, just a couple of days ago he had accepted her decision, and now just because of this he was going to abandon that plan entirely? Eliza shook her head at this and paused, pacing up and down the corridor she had stumbled upon. Muttering curse words under her breath Eliza stopped suddenly and gazed out of the long windows. Breathless, she took in the radiant sun that gleamed against a brilliant azure sky that resembled one giant, blue ocean. When Eliza glanced over at the now full, green trees in the courtyard she felt like she had taken a knife to the chest. Those trees that were sprinkled on the edge of the courtyard, bordering the Black Lake resembled Remus’s eyes. Eliza was devastated that she couldn't find solace for her heartbreak in nature, how would she recover from a blow like this? But it couldn’t really be over, Eliza wasn’t the type to give up on what she wanted, and she craved Remus more than anything. Not after everything they had gone through together this year alone, she felt like she had finally found her match. She had never met someone so understanding of every facet of her personality, the quick-firing temper and bull-headed stubbornness. Remus took in these and many more faults with unrelenting patience, they complimented each other so beautifully. Everything made sense while she was with him and now that it was over, Eliza felt a gnawing sensation eat away at her heart. She couldn't bear to live with that pain, she didn't know how long it would take to get over Remus. But Eliza decided she wouldn't let him leave her without a fight and she quickly wiped away the hot tears that had brimmed over. Racing back up to his office she threw open the door, preparing to chew him out for his actions earlier. But, the office was abandoned, all of Remus’s stuff gone. Panicking Eliza shut the door and ran down the corridor, searching for Lupin. He had to be here, he couldn’t have left yet.

Eliza was becoming increasingly worried by the minute. She continued to sprint up and down the corridor with large painted windows that faced the small dirt road that lead up to the castle. It felt like she had been running forever until she saw Remus heaving his trunk into the back of the horseless carriages. Logic had long since left her mind and without a plan of what she was going to do or say, Eliza sprinted down the corridor and out the door. Exhausted and panting from all of her running, Eliza continued to sprint down to Remus, who was standing just outside of the castle. Her heart was thudding in her chest both due to the running and the incessant desire to stop him from leaving her. Did he seriously believe that Eliza didn’t love him enough to stay?

“Remus!” She shouted, not daring to slow down as she neared a startled Remus and tackled him into the grass besides the parked carriage. Eliza passionately kissed him, throwing her arms around his neck, no longer caring who saw them. She needed him to know how much she loved him, how she didn’t want to go a day without his touch, without his gentle, voice, to look over and be able to communicate with him with a single glance.

“Don’t leave without me. Don’t you dare leave without me. Remus, I love you. I love you so much and I wanted you to know that I need you just as much as you need me! Yes, I can get on by myself, but can’t you see I don’t want to anymore? I’ve never met anyone who shows me such patience and love, and I honestly don’t think I can go without it or you. You have me. You believe you're not whole and that you will never be enough to satisfy what unrealistic need I may desire. But Remus can't you see that's ridiculous?” She confessed, her voice thick while she struggled for air. Remus helped Eliza up and steadied her with his arms, his features shifting between excitement and concern.

“Are you sure you want me? Because give me the word and we’ll end this. Eliza, I love you. I’ve been so selfish with you this year I thought leaving you behind was best. But, God, how could I? I’ve been alone for so long and it feels so good and right to have you with me. I don’t want to end this. If you'll have me, with all of my inconsistencies and flaws then there's really nothing I could do or say to try and change your mind.” Remus said as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against him so he could kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck and hands into his hair, they moved against each other, and neither could deny how natural it felt. Eliza broke away because she was still breathless from sprinting after him, Remus laughed heartily and helped Eliza into the carriage. She’d have to write to her mother and explain her situation… and her boyfriend.

Once inside the now moving carriage Eliza and Remus refused to stop touching each other, both felt revitalized by the ability to touch the other in public. To hold Eliza’s hand and not be fearful for both his position and her expulsion. Eliza sighed dreamily as Remus once again kissed her, his mouth moving hotly against hers, causing Eliza’s body to flush.

“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” Eliza asked, a fox like smile in her voice. Remus tipped her head back and kissed her quickly, slowly biting at her lip as he released her mouth from his own.

“Yes, very.” He added with another quick kiss, causing her to giggle. “I never would have expected the beautiful, intelligent heroine to end up with the beast.” Remus said, voice steering away from giddiness. Eliza rolled her eyes at him and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, her fingers brushing through his sandy locks.

“I don’t want a knight in shining armor, love. I’m perfectly happy being abducted by a werewolf.” She jested as Remus laughed, a loud, booming sound. Something Eliza so rarely heard and longed for ardently.

Remus’s laughter faded into his trademark mischievous grin, his green eyes sparkled with pure, and utter happiness. He pulled Eliza onto his lap and begun to kiss her deeply, giving no mind to the steady rocking of the carriage as it lead them to the Hogsmeade train station. They had time now to be together. Eliza relished at the thought, thinking to herself that there’s nothing she’d rather see than Remus’s kind smile.


End file.
